Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 Vaccine To Launch In Q2 of Next Year

Hyderabad: Bharat Biotech’s vaccine Covaxin is expected to be launched in Q2 of 2021 pending approvals from authorities.

The phase 3 trials will be started at the earliest across the nation, according to reports.

Covaxin has been developed in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology (NIV). It uses inactivated Sars-Cov-2 virus.

“If we get all the approvals after establishing strong experimental evidence and data, and efficacy and safety data in our last stage of trials, we aim to launch the vaccine in Q2 of 2021,” Bharat Biotech International Executive Director Sai Prasad told PTI.

The phase 3 trials will be conducted in 25 to 30 sites and across 13-14 states with two doses per person. Around 2,000 individuals will be enrolled per hospital.

The investment for the vaccine development and manufacturing has been around Rs 350-400 crore.

The vaccine is expected to be sold to both government and private players.