Phase 3 trials of COVAXIN to start in November

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) is collaborating with leading pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech for the development of the COVAXIN.

New Delhi:The third and final phase clinical trials of Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech to control the Coronavirus will begin in November.

Nizam's Institute Of Medical Sciences (NIMS) medical sources said that the trials may start in the first or second week of the month.

"First phase tests have been successfully completed in NIMS. In second phase tests, 12 people were vaccinated by giving the booster dose and 55 others will be given the vaccine over the next 3 days," said Clinical Trials Nodal Officer Dr C Prabhakar Reddy.

After 14 days, they will collect blood samples and send them to the Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR). On the other hand, the medical team said that the results were promising after 45 people were vaccinated in NIMS in the first phase.

Dr. Prabhakar Reddy explained that a total of 100 volunteers participated in the first and second phases. Monitoring the health of the volunteers has been going on for almost 6 months. He explained that there was a possibility of vaccinating 200 people in the third phase tests.

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) is collaborating with leading pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech for the development of the COVAXIN.

Bharat Biotech will use Kansas-based ViroVax's adjuvant Alhydroxiquim-II to boost the immune response to its coronavirus vaccine Covaxin.

Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine derived from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus, isolated at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

The inactivated virus is formulated with ViroVax's adjuvant to produce the vaccine candidate, under a licensing agreement.

(With inputs from agencies)