On Friday, India’s drug regulator approved Zydus Cadila’s three-dose Covid-19 DNA vaccine for emergency use in India. It is the sixth authorized vaccine for use in India. This can be administrated to adults and children above 12 years.
As per the official statement, the company plans to manufacture 100 million to 120 million doses of Zydus Cadila’s vaccine – ZyCoV-D annually. The company has also started to stockpile the vaccine.
Cadila Healthcare Ltd applied for the authorization of the vaccine on July 1 and its efficacy rate was 66.6 percent.
Also Read: Zydus Cadila: The first Covid Vaccine for children above 12 got emergency apporval in India
ZyCoV-D is the world’s first plasmid DNA vaccine against the coronavirus and it uses a section of genetic material from the virus. The ZyCoV-D vaccine is a three-dosage Covid-19 vaccine, whereas the rest vaccines are administered in two doses.
The vaccine is developed in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology. It is the second home-grown vaccine to get emergency authorization in India after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
The company in July claimed that its vaccine is effective against new mutants of Covid-19, especially the Delta variant. The vaccine is administered using a needle-free applicator as opposed to traditional syringes.
After the authorization, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed it as a “momentous feat” and wrote the approval for the world’s first DNA-based ‘ZyCov-D’ vaccine is a testimony to the innovative zeal of India’s scientists.
Also Read: J&J seeks approval to conduct clinical trial of Covid vaccine in adolescents
His tweet read, “India is fighting COVID-19 with full vigor. The approval for the world’s first DNA-based ‘ZyCov-D’ vaccine of Zydus Cadila is a testimony to the innovative zeal of India’s scientists. A momentous feat indeed.”