All Indian COVID-19 Vaccines Being Developed For Storage At 2-8 Degree Celsius, Says Govt Official

By OB Bureau On Jan 5, 2021

New Delhi: The logistics for storing all Indian vaccines being developed against the coronavirus at 2-8 degrees Celsius have been worked out while considering temperature as a factor, ‘mint’ quoted Secretary, Department of Biotechnology Secretary Renu Swarup as saying on Tuesday.

Swarup said Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin and Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield have robustly undergone immunoassay lab tests.

“(For) all our vaccines, we are looking at right now…..(we) are targeting 2-8 degree because our logistics are worked out on that basis and we are working on that,” Swarup said at a press briefing.

She said the DNA vaccine candidate being developed by Zydus Cadila, and the Biological E’s mRNA vaccine work at storage temperatures of 2-8 degrees Celsius.

“Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna which requires a minus 70 degree Celsius (cold) chain, this (the Biological E’s vaccine candidate) is basically at the 2-8 degree Celsius,” Swarup was quoted as saying.

The Zydus Cadila candidate has been granted approval to conduct the phase-3 trial while the Biological E candidate is in its phase-1 clinical trial stage, the report added.

Swarup said Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has partnered with Russia’s Gamaleya Institute and a vaccine is being developed for India targeting storage at 2-8 degrees Celsius.

“They (Dr Reddy’s Laboratories) have started phase 2/3 trials in the country. They have completed the first part of the phase 2 trial on 1,000 subjects and they are now looking at interim data which is to be analysed.

“They also have large global trials, like the Astrazeneca and that data is also being looked at. What they are targeting is for India to try and see how it could be at 2-8 degrees,” Swarup added in the report.