India's Cadila to produce up to 30 million Covid-19 vaccine doses a month: Executive

The virus has killed nearly 100,000 Indians in May alone according to official figures, although experts say actual numbers are likely many times higher. India's Covid-19 death toll surged past 300,000 on Monday, health ministry data showed.

  • Updated On May 24, 2021 at 03:32 PM IST
Read by: 100 Industry Professionals
Reader Image Read by 100 Industry Professionals
India's Cadila Healthcare is aiming to triple monthly production of Covid-19 vaccine candidate to as many as 30 million doses, its managing director said on Monday, as the country battles a massive wave of infections.

The virus has killed nearly 100,000 Indians in May alone according to official figures, although experts say actual numbers are likely many times higher. India's Covid-19 death toll surged past 300,000 on Monday, health ministry data showed.

India is also facing a shortage of vaccines. Weekly vaccinations have fallen from a peak of nearly 25 million doses in early April to about 9 million. The government has pledged to make 2.67 billion doses available this year.

Advt
Cadila, headquartered in Ahmedabad in western India, is looking to increase monthly production of its vaccine candidate ZyCoV-D to up to 30 million doses in four to five months, from 10 million now, its managing director, Sharvil Patel, said in text messages to Reuters.

Reuters reported last month Cadila was seeking emergency use authorisation for the shot from India's regulators in May or June.

"We still think we should be able to submit (the vaccine for emergency use authorisation) in May," Patel said on Monday.

The company will use both in-house capacity as well as third-party manufacturers to boost production, he said.

ZyCoV-D is a DNA plasmid vaccine, which uses a portion of the genetic code - DNA or RNA - in the virus to stimulate an immune response.

It is undergoing late-stage trials in nearly 30,000 adults after being found safe and immunogenic in earlier studies.

It is meant to be given in three doses but Cadila is also doing trials on a two-dose regimen, Patel has said previously.
  • Published On May 24, 2021 at 03:31 PM IST
Be the first one to comment.
Comment Now

Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals

Subscribe to our newsletter to get latest insights & analysis.

Download ETHealthworld App

  • Get Realtime updates
  • Save your favourite articles
Scan to download App