SII expects nod for Covishield in ‘few days’

New Delhi, Dec 28: Pune-based Serum Institute of India on Monday expressed hope at the possibility of Covid-19 vaccine — Covishield — receiving the regulatory approval in “few days”, while emphasising that the company has a massive stockpile 40-50 million doses.
The drug maker has partnered with global pharma giant AstraZeneca and the Oxford University for making the vaccine and is conducting trials in India. Indian drug regulatory body is looking at the UK’s approval to this vaccine before giving nod for Emergency Use Authorization to its Indian counterpart developed by SII.
“We have 40-50 million doses of Covishield stockpiled. Once we get regulatory approvals in a few days, it will be down to the government to decide how much they can take and how fast. We will be producing around 300 million doses by July 2021,” Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Monday.
India currently has eight Covid-19 vaccine candidates, including three indigenous vaccines, under different stages of clinical trials which could be ready for authorization in near future. Serum Institute-Oxford’s Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Pfizer vaccine are in the fray for emergency use authorisation. (PTI)
nRelated report on P-7