Serum Institute says coronavirus vaccine may be ready by 2020 end
Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla has once again reiterated that coronavirus vaccine is likely to be read by end of 2020 while the final call on its price will be taken in the next two months. SII is conducting Phase 2, 3 trials of Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in India and is also manufacturing over 20 crore (200 million) doses of the vaccine after it entered into an agreement with the AstraZeneca. The vaccine will be branded as Covishield as its developers are hopeful that it will be an efficacious, immunogenic vaccine, viable for mass use.
Coronavirus vaccine to be ready by 2020 end, says Poonawalla | Key takeaways
- Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Poonawalla said, "We should have a vaccine by the end of this year. We will conduct trials in India on a few thousand patients in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
- The final pricing for the coronavirus vaccine will be announced in two months.
- As part of Phase 3 or final-stage trials of the Oxford's coronavirus vaccine, Poonawalla had previously said between 4,000 to 5,000 people in Pune and Mumbai will be injected with the vaccine by the end of August.
- Poonawalla also mentioned that they plan to manufacture 300 million to 400 million doses of the Oxford's vaccine by 2020 end.
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