New Delhi: A panel of experts of India's top drug authority has given its recommendation for the emergency use of Zydus Cadila's needle-free three-dose COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D.
According to sources, the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation Thursday discussed the application submitted by Zydus Cadila July 1 and recommended granting emergency use authorisation to its three-dose vaccine.
The recommendation has been sent to the Drugs Controller General of India for final approval.
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The Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical major said it has conducted the largest clinical trial for the vaccine in India in over 50 centres so far. Once approved, it will be the world's first DNA vaccine against the coronavirus infection, developed by an Indian company.
Plasmid DNA-based ZyCoV-D will become the sixth vaccine to be approved for use in the country, the others being Serum Institute of India's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Russia's Sputnik V, the US-made Moderna and the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. The Zydus Cadila vaccine has to be intradermally administered using a needle-free injector.
According to Sharvil Patel, managing director of Cadila Healthcare, the vaccine, when approved, would help not only adults but also adolescents in the 12 to 18 years age group.
