Covid-19 vaccine: Serum Institute starts Covovax production in Pune

Serum Institute of India (SII) has started producing Covovax at its plant in Pune. Covovax is a Covid-19 vaccine and it has been developed by the American biotechnology company Novavax Inc. According to SII CEO Adar Poonawalla, the vaccine has the potential to protect those below the age of 18 years against Covid-19 infection.

Pune: The city-based global vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII) has started producing Covovax Covid-19 vaccine at its plant in Pune. Covovax has been developed by the American biotechnology company Novavax Inc. Announcing this development over Twitter, SII said: “A new milestone has been reached; this week we began our first batch of Covovax (a COVID-19 vaccine developed by @Novavax) at our facility, here in Pune.”

In a separate tweet, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla confirmed the development and said the vaccine has the potential to protect those below the age of 18 years against Covid-19 infection. "Excited to witness the first batch of Covovax (developed by @Novavax) being manufactured this week at our facility in Pune. The vaccine has great potential to protect our future generations below the age of 18. Trials are ongoing. Well done team @seruminstindia!," the tweet said.

Last March, Poonawalla said clinical trials of Covovax have begun in the country and the company hopes to launch it by September this year. In August 2020, Novavax announced a licence agreement with SII for the development and commercialisation of NVX-CoV2373, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, in low and middle-income countries and India. However, this agreement between Novavax and SII excludes major upper-middle and high-income countries, for which Novavax continues to retain rights.

According to SII, the vaccine showed an overall efficacy of 89 per cent when tested against coronavirus variants found in Africa as well the UK. "Covovax trials finally begin in India; the vaccine is made through a partnership with @Novavax and @SerumInstIndia. It has been tested against African and UK variants of #COVID19 and has an overall efficacy of 89%. Hope to launch by September 2021!," Poonawalla said in a tweet on 27 March, 2021.

Covovax is the second Covid-19 vaccine to be produced by the SII. SII is already supplying AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine (Covishield) in India and to other countries across the world.

Early this month, the news agency PTI reported that SII got permission from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture the Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine in India for examination, test and analysis. "The DCGI has granted permission to the Serum Institute to manufacture the Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine in India for examination, test and analysis at its licensed Hadapsar facility with certain conditions," PTI said in a report citing sources.

Sputnik V was developed by Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.