Bharat Biotech, Duc Minh donate 2 lakh Covaxin doses to Vietnam

The decision to donate India’s locally developed Covid vaccine to Vietnam was announced by Bharat Biotech’s Managing Director Suchitra Ella at an event hosted by Vuong Dinh Hue, the President of the National Assembly of Vietnam in New Delhi on Thursday, writes ETV Bharat Deputy News Editor Krishnanand Tripathi.

New Delhi:Hyderabad based vaccine developer Bharat Biotech and Duc Minh, its local partner in Vietnam, have donated 2,00,000 doses of Covaxin, India’s locally developed vaccine against the highly contagious Covid-19 virus, to the South-East Asian country.

The decision to donate India’s locally developed Covid vaccine to Vietnam was announced by Bharat Biotech’s Managing Director Suchitra Ella at an event hosted by Vuong Dinh Hue, the President of the National Assembly of Vietnam in New Delhi on Thursday.

Covaxin has been developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the state owned Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

The vaccine, which is based on an inactivated SarS-CoV-2 virus, showed strong immune response against the Covid-19 virus in a real world study conducted by Lancent. And after a rigorous process, the global health body, the World Health Organization, last month granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to Covaxin.

Bharat Biotech said the donation of Covaxin to Vietnam represents a goodwill gesture to the company’s WHO approved vaccine to fight the Covid-19 pandemic globally. Covaxin has received emergency use approval in Vietnam.

The Hyderabad based vaccine maker, which holds 145 global patents and wide product portfolio of more than 16 vaccines, was invited by the Embassy of Vietnam for a one-on-one meeting with the President of the National Assembly, who is on India visit, to explore the possibility of supply, technology transfer, and production of Covaxin in the south east Asian country.

Suchitra Ella, Joint Managing Director of Bharat Biotech, said it was an honour for the company to serve the Republic of Vietnam in its fight against the global pandemic.

She said Covaxin will help boost up the country's national vaccination program and recovery from the pandemic.

“We believe in vaccine equity and global public health. Having access to the vaccine is vital for national health and I hope everyone in the Republic of Vietnam will take advantage of having access to this widely administered, safe and efficacious Covaxin vaccine,” said Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech.

In Vietnam, Bharat Biotech has been working with Duc Minh Medical JSC towards the commercialization of Indirab (Inactivated Rabies Vaccine).

The Ha Noi based Duc Minh is Bharat Biotech's local partner in the country.

Bharat Biotech has also supplied INDIRAB to Vietnam to support the country’s anti-rabies vaccine requirement.

Covid vaccine for children

Bharat Biotech, which has delivered more than 4 billion doses of different vaccines across the globe, has also submitted the second and third phase trial data of Covaxin for Children to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO).

According to the company, the regulatory approval for the Covaxin, which has been developed for children in the age group of 2 to 18 years, is awaited.

Indian vaccines for the world

Hyderabad based vaccine manufacturer has also developed vaccines for influenza H1N1, Rotavirus, Japanese Encephalitis, Rabies, Chikungunya, Zika, Cholera, and the world’s first tetanus-toxoid conjugated vaccine for Typhoid.

Bharat Biotech’s Biopolio, Rotavac, and Typbar TCV vaccines have been pre-qualified by the WHO against polio, rotavirus and typhoid infections, respectively.

The company said after the acquisition of Chiron Behring Vaccines, it has become the world's largest rabies vaccine manufacturer with two rabies vaccines - Chirorab and Indirab.