COVID-19 Vaccine: Cadila Hopes To Complete Phase 3 Trials By March 2021

Ahmedabad: If everything goes according to plan, Zydus Cadila will complete trials for its COVID-19 vaccine by February or March next year, company chairman Pankaj Patel said on Friday and added that they could produce up to 100 million doses a year initially.

Zydus Cadila is one of India’s leading pharmaceutical companies and its vaccine candidate ZyCov-D is one of dozens being trialled around the world to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are looking at about seven or a little more than seven months for the vaccine, provided the data is encouraging and the vaccine is proven to be effective during the trials,” Patel told Reuters.

“We are also open to discussing partnerships with pharma companies in various geographies, but it is a bit premature right now… we will be doing so at the end of Phase 1 and 2 trials,” he informed.

The company is looking to conclude Phase 1 and 2 human trials in the next three months. Permission for Phase 3 human trial will be sought if results from Phase 1/2 trials are encouraging.

If Phase 3 trials are successful, the company will start production of 100 million doses of the potential COVID-19 vaccine annually.

Cadila is also planning to produce remdesivir, a drug which is in high demand globally after it showed promise in treating patients with severe coronavirus symptoms.

Patel said Cadila had the capacity to produce up to 400,000 doses of remdesivir in the first month after getting regulatory approval to make it in India.

He added that the company will ensure that India’s remdesivir requirements are first met before accepting export orders.