Amid emerging concerns over the new variant of coronavirus, a Pune-based company Gennova Biopharmaceuticals is developing an Omicron-specific vaccine. This is India’s first mRNA vaccine, reports stated.
This development comes after questions were raised on the efficiency of the current vaccines available – Covishield and Covaxin – in India.
Moreover, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier stated that India’s first mRNA vaccine was in the final stages, during his speech at the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
It has also come to light that the company has already filed its phase 2 data with Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) last week.
The Omicron specific vaccine is under development and will be ready for human clinical trials, subject to regulatory approvals, ANI quoted the spokesperson of Gennova Biopharmaceuticals as saying.
The Drugs Controller General of India's (DCGI) Subject Expert Committee (SEC) will review the data soon.
Besides, in early January, Pfizer had also announced a vaccine that targets the Omicron variant of COVID-19 would be ready in March.
What is mRNA Vaccine?
Known as Messenger RNA Vaccines, they protect us from infectious diseases by triggering an immune response and activating cells to fight against invading enemies.
The immune response leads to the creation of antibodies required to fight the invading virus by targeting that particular piece of protein.
The new vaccine is an mRNA vaccine in which a small part of the virus’s genetic code (RNA) is injected into a person to stimulate the recipient’s immune response.
The development of this vaccine is a significant achievement for the country, Dr VK Paul, COVID-19 task force chief was quoted by Times of India as saying.
Is this new vaccine really effective against Omicron?
According to Gennova, the vaccine — HGCO19 — was found to be “safe, tolerable and immunogenic” by the CDSCO after the firm submitted interim clinical data of the phase I study.
The company is carrying out trials across 10-15 sites in Phase II and 22-27 sites in Phase III. Gennova is using the DBT-ICMR clinical trial network sites for this study.
Gennova Biopharmaceuticals’s Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine candidate could be ready in a month or two, as per reports.
A study mentions that the Omicron infected cells at a higher rate than other variants. The results demonstrated a booster dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine provided the best immune protection from the Omicron variant.
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