According to reports, Covaxin, India’s native novel coronavirus being developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, has reduced the number of volunteers for the Phase II trials by half. Meanwhile, the Oxford-AstraZeneca has undertaken the Phase three trials of its coronavirus vaccine.
On the other hand, the World Bank in an announcement said it will support the developing countries by financing $12 billion to help the developing nations finance coronavirus vaccines and support the treatment of its people.
After AstraZeneca's had paused its covid-19 vaccine clinical trials in September, the latest to do so is Johnson & Johnson. These two major vaccine candidates suffered setbacks because the volunteers developed an unexplained sickness.
COVAXIN trials cut by half
As per the report, Indian vaccine maker Bharat Biotech has decided to trim its number of volunteers by half for the Phase two clinical trials of coronavirus vaccine candidate Covaxin. The Bharat Biotech had enrolled 750 volunteers for the Covaxin trials, but now the number is deducted to 380 also including the number of vaccine trial locations. Phase I trials were completed with over 350 volunteers and the trials are now in the second phase. The researchers at Bharat Biotech have informed that while testing the COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the trials did not suffer any major illness or setback so far.
Meanwhile, the health ministry in its latest update said that Covaxin will soon enter Phase III trials and is on its course. The government also revealed that India will get the covid-19 vaccine by early 2021 and from more than one source. Bharat Biotech has asked DCGI's permission for conducting Phase III clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, has been instructed to submit complete safety and immunogenicity data of the ongoing Phase II trial and also provide clarifications before proceeding for the next stage.
ASTRAZENECA trials in India proceeded to Phase three
Drugmaker AstraZeneca and Oxford University are currently in the third phase of clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine across the world. In India, the trials are being conducted by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and the process of conducting the trials are going in several cities across the country, including Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh. The health ministry has said the Phase three trials of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine are on track and results are expected around November-December.
Serum Institute of India in partnership with AstraZeneca is manufacturing the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine candidate is conducting Phase II and Phase III human clinical trials of the antidote in India.
AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine is being promoted as one of the most advanced candidates in the race for finding the best vaccine against coronavirus infection. It is one of the most-anticipated vaccine candidates in the world. Although it received a setback in September, the trials for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate have resumed across countries. The coronavirus vaccine uses a weakened version of a chimpanzee common cold virus that encodes instructions for making proteins from the novel coronavirus to generate an immune response and prevent infection.
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ZYDUS CADILA is at Phase two trials
Another Covid-19 vaccine candidate being developed by Zydus Cadila Ltd is in Phase two of the human clinical trials. The Gujarat-based pharma giant is making the second Indian vaccine candidate which is currently testing the antidote on volunteers for the Phase two trials.
WORLD BANK Promises $12 BILLION to developing nations
The World Bank announced that its executive board has approved an amount of $12 billion as new funding for developing countries to finance the purchase and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatments for their citizens. The financing plan, part of $160 billion in total resources that the multilateral development lender has promised to provide and support to developing countries through June 2021 to help them fight the coronavirus pandemic.