A Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has developed a preventive vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19) in the partnership with American biotechnology company Codagenix.
According to the Times of India report, “The vaccine designed by SII and Codagenix is ready for the pre-clinical test and will progress to human trials in the next six months.”
“The SSI-Codagenix candidate vaccine was developed using a laboratory-made synthetic virus. It is an important breakthrough because it could significantly reduce the time taken to build against the virus at the heart of the current outbreak emanating from China,” the report said.
Speaking with TOI, Adar Poonawalla, Owner and CEO, SII said, “It usually takes eight years to fully develop a vaccine for use.”
“We have already marched ahead by generating a candidate vaccine in the Codagenix laboratory in the US. Our vaccine-virus strain is identical to the original virus and can generate a robust immune response,” Adar told the newspaper.
Speaking on the Human trials, Adar, told the newspaper, “The vaccine will be ready for human trials within six months, That makes it the fastest ‘Make in India’ vaccine to enter this phase.”
