SunstarTV Bureau: Serum Institute of India (SII) has applied for emergency use authorisation of vaccine ‘Covishield’ in India.
“As promised, before the end of 2020, Serum Institute of India (SII) has applied for emergency use authorisation for the first made-in-India vaccine, Covishield” Adar Poonawalla, CEO and Owner, Serum Institute of India.
As promised, before the end of 2020, @SerumInstIndia has applied for emergency use authorisation for the first made-in-India vaccine, COVISHIELD. This will save countless lives, and I thank the Government of India and Sri @narendramodi ji for their invaluable support.
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) December 7, 2020
SII is the world’s largest vaccine maker by number of doses produced, has sought government approval for its indigenous vaccine ‘Covishield’, which is developing with the University of Oxford and British drugmaker AstraZeneca.
The Pune-based pharmaceutical firm is the second to do so after American firm Pfizer sought approval from the drug regulator – the DCGI (Drugs Controller General of India) – for its COVID-19 vaccine, cleared by the United Kingdom and Bahrain.
Serum Institute of India (SII) partnered with AstraZeneca Plc to conduct trials on its Covishield vaccine in India. “Covishield is safe and well-tolerated and can be used effectively for prevention of COVID-19 in the targeted population. Thus, the benefit to risk ratio strongly supports its widespread use,” news agency PTI quoted a source as saying, citing the application to the drug regulator.
