There is good news on the Covid front as Bharat Biotech which manufactures India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine – Covaxin and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday (21 April) announced phase 3 interim analysis results.

As per the statement that has been released by Bharat Biotech, the second interim analysis is based on accruing more than 87 symptomatic cases of COVID-19. This news could not have come at a better time when India has been hit severely by the second wave

“Due to the recent surge in cases, 127 symptomatic cases were recorded, resulting in a point estimate of vaccine efficacy of 78% (95%CI: 61-88) against mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19 disease,” said the company.

The efficacy against severe COVID-19 disease was 100 per cent (95%CI: 60-100), with an impact on reduction in hospitalizations. The efficacy against asymptomatic COVID-19 infection was 70 per cent, suggesting decreased transmission in Covaxin recipients, the company said.

Safety and Efficacy results from the final analysis will be available in June, and the final report will be submitted to a peer-reviewed publication, the company added.

Great news for domestic vaccine #Covaxin — 100% efficacy in phase 3 trials against severe #Covid & 78% clinical efficacy. Results just released.

— Minhaz Merchant (@MinhazMerchant) April 21, 2021

The company further said that based on the achievement of the success criteria, placebo recipients have now become eligible to receive two doses of Covaxin.

The comprehensive Phase 3 study had 25,800 participants between ages 18-98, including 10 per cent over the age of 60, with analysis conducted 14 days post-second dose.

Covaxin was developed with seed strains received from the National Institute of Virology, and the phase 3 clinical trial was co-funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research, making it a true public-private partnership towards public health, it added.

Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, “Efficacy against SARS-Cov-2 has been established. Covaxin has demonstrated an excellent safety record in human clinical trials and in usage under emergency use. Covaxin is now a global innovator vaccine derived from Research & Development from India. The efficacy data against severe COVID-19 and asymptomatic infections is highly significant, as this helps reduce hospitalizations and disease transmission, respectively.”

Professor Balram Bhargava, Secretary Department of Health Research & Director General, ICMR, said, “I am very pleased to state that Covaxin, the first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine developed by ICMR and BBIL, has shown the efficacy of 78% in the second interim analysis. The tireless efforts of our scientists at ICMR and BBIL have resulted in a truly effective international vaccine of the highest standards and efficacy. I am also happy to note that Covaxin works well against most variants of SARS-CoV-2. These findings together consolidate the position of our indigenous vaccine in the global vaccine landscape.”

Bharat Biotech now plans to further develop Covaxin with clinical trials planned in India and globally. The company will now work on how to evaluate the vaccine’s safety and immunogenicity in younger age groups, the impact of booster doses, and protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

After the Modi government announced that Indian Biotechnology Company Bharat Biotech is ready to roll out Covid-19 vaccine – Covaxin, which has been developed in association with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology (NIV), Dr Krishna Ella the chairman and managing director of Indian Biotechnology Company Bharat Biotech has come out heavily against detractors who have questioned the efficacy of this Indian vaccine. 

Clinical trials for Covaxin have taken place in over 12 countries including the UK and “COVAXIN has generated excellent safety data with robust immune responses to multiple viral proteins that persist”, Dr Ella has been quoted as saying. Also, no placebo has been involved during the trials and every subject has been monitored for the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

As per reports, 800 subjects were administered the vaccine in Phase I and II of the clinical trials. However, testing for Phase III vaccine was conducted on 22,500 subjects till date.

Dr Ella claimed that Bharat Biotech has “tremendous experience” in developing vaccines and has a presence in 123 countries and it is the only biotechnology company in the world which has a BSL-3 production facility.

As of now, Bharat Biotech has 20 million doses of Covaxin that have been manufactured and the capacity will eventually be scaled up to 700 million. Also, the price of the vaccine may be higher in the introductory period but it will eventually come down, said Dr Ella.

Also, Bharat Biotech has 140 global patents and a product portfolio of more than 16 vaccines, four bio-therapeutics, registrations in more than 116 countries and WHO Pre-qualifications and the has delivered over 4 billion doses of vaccines worldwide.

Bharat Biotech has alsodeveloped vaccines for influenza H1N1, Rotavirus, Japanese Encephalitis, Rabies, Chikungunya, Zika and the world’s first tetanus-toxoid conjugated vaccine for Typhoid.