India Initiates COVID Vaccine Human Trials With 1,000 Volunteers: All You Need To Know

India has initiated human clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine with approximately 1,000 volunteers participating in the exercise for each of the two indigenously developed vaccine candidates.

Since India is one of the largest vaccine producers in the world, it is the country¡¯s ¡°moral responsibility¡± to fast-track vaccine development process to break the chain of coronavirus transmission, ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said referring to the two vaccine candidates developed indigenously.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has permitted two vaccines ¡ª one developed by Bharat Biotech International Limited in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and another one by Zydas Cadila Healthcare Ltd to go in for the first and second phase of human clinical trials.

Reuters

There are two Indian vaccine candidates that have undergone successful toxicity studies in rats, mice and rabbits and this data was submitted to the DCGI, following which both got clearance to start an early phase human trials earlier this month, Bhargava said.

¡°Two indigenous Indian candidate vaccines have got clearance to start early phase human trials this month.

¡°They have got their sites ready and are doing the clinical study on approximately 1,000 human volunteers each at different sites. They are trying to do early clinical testing for these two indigenous vaccine candidates,¡± Bhargava said.

¡°¡­ it is a moral duty to develop them as fast as possible because more than half a million people have succumbed to the disease across the world. So, fast-tracking these vaccines becomes very important,¡± he said.

AP

Bhargava stated that India is considered as the ¡°pharmacy of the world¡±, saying 60 per cent of the drugs utilised in the US are of Indian origin.

¡°The important fact that is not known is that 60 per cent of the vaccines supplied in the world whether it be Africa, Europe or Southeast Asia or anywhere are of Indian origin,¡± he said.

Bhargava said that recently Russia had fast-tracked a vaccine, which has been successful in its early phases, and they have also accelerated its development and the whole world has applauded it.