Moderna Becomes 4th COVID-19 Vaccine To Get Approval For Use In India: Reports

Mumbai: Pharma company Cipla has reportedly received Drugs Controller General of India’s (DCGI) nod to import Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for restricted emergency use, becoming the fourth COVID-19 vaccine approved in India.

Moderna had earlier sought regulatory approval for its COVID-19 vaccine in India. The vaccine has been shown to be around 94% effective against COVID-19.

Moderna has further informed that the United States Government has agreed to donate a certain number of its vaccine doses to India through COVAX’s global initiative and has sought approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) for the same.

Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company Cipla has applied for import and marketing authorization of Jabs on behalf of the US vaccine manufacturer.

“Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has granted permission to Cipla to import Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for restricted emergency use in the country as per the provisions of the New Drugs and Clinical Trial Rules, 2019 under Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940,” a source told HT.

India is already administering Oxford’s Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, and Russia’s Sputnik V in the fight against the deadly disease outbreak.

This comes a day after US pharma major Cipla requested import and marketing authorization for these jabs from the drug regulator.

Earlier this month, Cipla indicated its plans for rapid approval to rapidly bring Moderna’s single-dose COVID-19 booster vaccine to India, and that it has requested the government for indemnification and exemptions from price capping, bridging trials, and basic customs duty. Cipla had not named the vaccine then.

Cipla was reportedly close to committing over $ one billion as advance to the US major for the import of close to 50 million doses, reports PTI.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and like us on Facebook for the latest updates and interesting stories.