Serum Institute To Introduce Novavax Vaccine In India By September: Report
Mumbai: Serum Institute of India (SII) will introduce Covavax in the country by September, people familiar with the development told ANI on Thursday. Covavax is a version of US firm Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate. SII also said that it will start clinical trials of Novavax for children in July.
The Novavax vaccine has shown strong efficacy against emerging variants of COVID-19 in a large trial, the biotech firm said on June 14. It is also the fourth vaccine that the United States has added to its arsenal.
Novavax Inc said the jabs are 90% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and show 100% effectiveness in preventing moderate and severe symptoms.
India is closely monitoring developments related to the vaccine. The government said Tuesday that it finds the Novavax shots’ effectiveness data “encouraging and promising”.
NITI Aayog member (health) VK Paul said that the vaccine maker SII in India makes the vaccine more relevant. Addressing the daily Covid-19 vaccine press briefing on Tuesday, Paul said that SII has already completed the preparatory work and is conducting a bridging trial which is in advanced stages of completion.
This vaccine is expected to be launched in India in September. This is the second coronavirus vaccine developed in India by Serum Institute after Covishield in partnership with Oxford University and British-Swedish pharma firm AstraZeneca.
According to Novavax, its jab has demonstrated “100 percent protection against moderate and severe disease, with an overall 90.4 percent efficacy in the study to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity at 119 sites in the US and Mexico to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity.”
The Maryland-headquartered company said it intends to apply for regulatory approval by the third quarter of 2021.
Unlike some rival jabs, Novavax’s vaccine – formally known as NVX-CoV2373 – does not need to be stored at ultra-low temperatures, allowing the use of existing vaccine supply chain channels for its distribution.
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