1,600 participants enroll for the phase 2/3 trials of Covishield

The Serum Institute of India (SII) on Thursday, November 12, announced the completion of the enrollment of the third and final phase of COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield. The company has informed that the team has completed all the procedures in the third phase of the clinical trials.

The vaccine is being developed in India in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Serum USA on behalf of Novavax. Both the organizations are also working together for the medical testing and research of Kovovax, and the tests are being conducted.

At present, ICMR and Serum are completing phase 2/3 of clinical trials at 15 different centres in India and a total of 1,600 volunteers have registered for the third phase till October 31, 2020. The vaccine will be produced based on the findings of the third clinical trial, and till date, no vaccine has been approved in India so far.

The statement released by the Pune-based firm stated that the strategic alliance between the companies will help the country take a leap in the race to develop the coronavirus vaccine. So far, the results have been promising and have been giving the much-needed hope and confidence regarding the potential cure for the fatal viral infection. 

Covishield is the only vaccine in India to have reached human testing, and the entities are considering the early availability of vaccine in the country. Reports stated that SII has already produced over 40 million doses so far 'under the at-risk manufacturing and stockpiling license from DCGI.'

Sharing more information, SII CEO, Adar Poonawalla, has stated that the role played by ICMR has strengthened our country's position in the fight against the pandemic and soon India will at the forefront of developing the vaccine, which would benefit the people.

Besides this, SII and ICMR are also working with US-based Novovax to develop Covovax, which will be tested in India for the third phase. The application will soon be made for the same. The late-phase trials have already been initiated by the US firm, and trials are expected to begin soon. Currently, requests have been received for the bulk vaccine and adjuvant, which SII aims to deliver soon.