NEW DELHI (BLOOMBERG) - India has granted emergency-use approval to its first DNA-based Covid-19 vaccine as the world's second-worst-hit nation seeks to bolster its immunisation drive to ward off a possible third wave of infections.
A three-dose vaccine developed by Ahmedabad-based Cadila Healthcare was given the go-ahead on Friday (Aug 20), the government said in a statement. The vaccine had a 67 per cent efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19 in clinical trials in July.
This is the second locally developed shot to receive approval.
The vaccine, which Cadila claims works against newer strains of the coronavirus, including the highly infectious Delta variant, adds to the country's arsenal in fighting the virus.
Covid-19 has so far sickened more than 32.3 million in the South Asian nation and killed more than 433,049, especially during a devastating second wave a few months back.
Speedier inoculations - known to reduce hospitalisation and deaths - are key to averting future virus waves in the densely populated country.
The shot is "the world's first and India's indigenously developed DNA-based vaccine for Covid-19 to be administered in humans, including children and adults 12 years and above", Cadila said in a statement.
It also plans to seek approval for a two-dose regimen of the vaccine and make a 100 million to 120 million doses annually.
India, which has fully vaccinated only 9 per cent of its population, has now approved six vaccines. Two of them from AstraZeneca and one from Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International are already widely in use.
Russia's Sputnik V vaccine has been administered in small numbers, while shots from Johnson & Johnson and Moderna are not being used as the makers continue to negotiate for legal indemnity.
Unlike traditional vaccines, Cadila's ZyCoV-D is a plasmid DNA vaccine that introduces a DNA sequence encoding the antigen in the body and not a weakened form of the pathogen.
Tokyo-based AnGes and the United States' Inovio Pharmaceuticals are among other companies working on DNA-based vaccines. No DNA vaccine has been widely used against any disease thus far, but they are more stable and easier to store than mRNA shots.
Home to the world's biggest vaccine-producing industry, India till early this year was seen as a major supplier of Covid-19 vaccines to poorer nations around the world.
But those plans went awry amid India's deadly second wave, vaccine supply shortfalls and consequent export ban from the Indian government.
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What is DNA-based Covid-19 vaccine
India has approved ZyCoV-D, the world’s first DNA-based Covid-19 vaccine, for emergency use. Here are some facts of the home-grown vaccine.
How does the vaccine work?
It works by injecting plasmids or small rings of DNA that contain genetic information into the body.
This will trigger the body to produce the spike protein of Covid-19, eliciting the production of antibodies to protect against the virus.
What is different about this vaccine?
This is the world’s first human DNA vaccine against Covid-19. The BBC reported that it is administered with a disposable needle-free injector, which uses a narrow stream of the fluid to penetrate the skin and deliver the jab to the proper tissue.
Unlike other Covid vaccines, ZyCoV-D requires three dose intervals at Day 0, 28 and 56 although the manufacturer Cadila Healthcare Ltd is said to be looking at a two-dose interval.
What is the benefit of the vaccine?
Vaccine maker Cadila Healthcare Ltd said the vaccine can be stored at temperatures of 2 - 8 deg C, and has shown good stability at 25 deg C for at least three months. This makes it easier to store and transport, especially to remote locations.
What are the challenges?
Scientists have pointed out that previous DNA-based vaccines for infectious diseases in humans have failed in the past.
There is also the challenge of pushing the plasmids into the human cell to ensure that it triggers an immune response.
“Plasmid DNA vaccines have been tried in the past. But we know it’s very difficult to get plasmid DNA into the nucleus of human cells, especially in adults,” Louisiana State University Health Sciences Centre virologist Dr Jeremy Kamil told the BBC.
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