India is among the biggest manufacturer of essential drugs and vaccines in the World. The country has manufactured many necessary vaccines and made doses for many diseases. For example, doses against meningitis, pneumonia, polio, rotavirus, BCG, measles. And many other conditions that have mostly affected the African countries and the rest of the World. Finding Covid-19 vaccine is the task at hand.
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a recent briefing said that India and the United States are working together in developing vaccines against the coronavirus.
India Firms in the laboratories developing Covid-19 vaccine
Currently, half of the Indian medical firms are busy in the laboratories developing vaccines for Covid-19 virus.
One of the firms, Serum Institute of India, is the World’s largest vaccine producer. The company has the most significant number of doses produced and sold globally. The company makes about 1.5 billion doses every year from its two branches in the western city of Pune. Serum Institute has around 7,000 employees, being in operation for 53 years. And having small openings in Netherlands and Czech Republic.
The company exports 80% of its vaccines at an average cheap cost of 50 cents per dose. Which has made its supplies to more than 165 countries worldwide, supplying 20 vaccines for various diseases.
Companies forming collaboration for a common goal –finding the vaccine
Due to fighting over coronavirus, the company has recently developed a joint partnership with Codagenix. An American biotech company, to create a live attenuated vaccine in the laboratory. Working together with other 80 reportedly development of vaccines all over the World.
Live attenuated vaccine reduces the power of the virus, causing the disease but keeping it alive. They have no harm as the pathogen is weakened under laboratory conditions.
Adar Poonawalla, who is the chief executive of Serum Institute, says: “We are planning a set of animal trials on mice and primates of this vaccines in April. By September, we should be able to begin human trials.”
Mr Poonawalla’s company has also affiliated to manufacture a mass production of a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford. This development is approved and backed up by the UK government. In the event, a genetically modified chimpanzee virus would be used as the basis for the new vaccine. Plannings are underway, and human trials will start on Thursday according to UK’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Matt on a press conference said that if the plan is to test the vaccine on around 500 volunteers by mid-May. And if the work proves successful, it will be given to other thousands of volunteers.
The World will soon need hundreds of millions of vaccine for Covid-19
The World will quickly need hundreds of millions of doses for coronavirus. And this is where the Indian vaccine makers comes in. They can produce up to 400 to 500 million doses to save the coming need when the vaccine is ready.
And then there are more other firms. The Hyderabad- based Bharat Biotech announced a collaboration with the University of Wisconsin, Madison. And FluGen, a US-based firm to make over 300 million doses of vaccine ready for worldwide distribution. Companies like Zydus Cadilla is currently developing two vaccines, Biological E, Mynvax and Indian Immunologicals are also making vaccine each. And other 3-5 homemade vaccines which are under early stages of development.
Conclusion
The World Health Organization warns there is still long way to go for complete ending of this pandemic. However, the work of these entrepreneurs and pharmaceutical companies brings hope to humanity. The world will go back to normal.
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