Tag: COVID vaccine

Indo-Israel rapid COVID-19 testing research to fructify in ‘matter of days’: Israeli envoy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A game-changer rapid COVID-19 testing technology being jointly developed by India and Israel should be ready for rollout in “a matter of days” and it will be able to give test results in less than a minute by simply requiring an individual to blow into a tube, the Israeli envoy to India has said.

Ambassador Ron Malka also said Israel would want India to become the manufacturing hub for this rapid testing kit and the two countries will also collaborate on vaccine development for this dreaded disease with India taking a key role in production given its “very strong relative advantage in manufacturing”.

He said the work on the rapid COVID-19 testing project is in a very advanced stage. “I think it is a matter of days. What I hear from those involved in the process, it should not take more than 2-3 weeks to finalise that one reliable and accurate technology or a combination of more than one from amongst the four different technologies being analysed,” Malka told.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

AstraZeneca Pharma shares surge 13% after parent company resumes vaccine trials in UK

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The share price of AstraZeneca Pharma India surged 13 percent on Monday after its parent company said that it has resumed British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine. The stock rose as much as 13 percent to Rs 4,546 per share.

The late-stage trials of the experimental vaccine, developed with researchers from the University of Oxford, were suspended after an illness in a study subject in Britain, casting doubts on an early rollout. It added that safety reviewers had recommended to Britain’s Medicines Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA) that it was safe to resume the British trials.

The patient involved in the study had been reportedly suffering from neurological symptoms associated with a rare spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis. AstraZeneca, based in Cambridge, said it could not disclose further medical information.

“The Company will continue to work with health authorities across the world and be guided as to when other clinical trials can resume to provide the vaccine broadly, equitably and at no profit during this pandemic,” AstraZeneca said.

The Serum Institute of India said it would restart its trials once it had permission from the Drugs Controller General of India.

AstraZeneca has already agreed to supply close to three billion doses to governments across the globe – more than any other vaccine project.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

World must scale up clinical trials to address COVID-19: WHO

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The head of the World Health Organization urged countries on Thursday to contribute resources that can expedite products which may help stem the coronavirus pandemic.

The WHO’s ACT-Accelerator programme already supports research into potential vaccines, drugs and diagnostics, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online event.

“But we need to rapidly scale up our clinical trials, manufacturing, licensing and regulation capacity so that these products can get to people and start saving lives,” he said.

The Serum Institute of India (SII), which was conducting the India trials for the coronavirus vaccine being developed by Oxford University, on Thursday paused the clinical trials of the vaccine in India.

In a statement, the Serum Institute of India said: “We are reviewing the situation and pausing India trials till AstraZeneca restarts the trials. We are following DCGI’s instructions and will not be able to comment further on trials.”

–With CNBC-TV18 inputs

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Hamdard Labs to start clinical trial of 2 immunity boosting drugs for COVID-19

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Health and wellness firm Hamdard Laboratories on Monday said it is going to start clinical trial of its two immunity boosting medicines to assess their effectiveness in preventing COVID-19 infection.

The company has received all the regulatory approvals to begin the proof of concept clinical trial for its Infuza and Kulzam drugs, Hamdard Laboratories said in a statement.

A research team from Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (HIMSR) is going to start the clinical trial at HAH Centenary Hospital in New Delhi, it added.

“A research group of HIMSR, that comprises an allopathic doctor, unani hakim, microbiologist and biochemist is working on a randomised, parallel group clinical trial for the repurposing of two popular Hamdard medicines i.e. Infuza and Kulzum for the prevention of COVID-19 infection,” Hamdard Laboratories India (Medicine Division) Executive Trustee Asad Mueed said.

HIMSR and associated HAH Centenary Hospital CEO G N Qazi said: “We are going to start the clinical trial…to evaluate the efficacy of these drugs for the prevention of COVID-19 infection in high risk subjects.

The study concept is approved by the Special Project Approval Committee, Ministry of AYUSH and has also been cleared by the Institutional Ethics Committee of the hospital, he added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India will get COVID-19 vaccine by end of this year, says health minister Harsh Vardhan

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India’s first vaccine against COVID-19 could be available by the end of 2020, said health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan. The minister, while inaugurating a 10-bed hospital at the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)’s 8th Battalion Centre in Ghaziabad, said that work is progressing on three vaccine candidates.

India has the “best” COVID-19 recovery rate of about 75 percent, which is improving every day, and the “lowest” mortality rate of 1.87 percent in the world, the minister said. He added that India began formulating its strategy against coronavirus from January 8 as soon as the world came to know about the outbreak of the disease.

“Many intelligent people, scientists and naysayers had estimated that India, with a population of about 135 crore, will see 300 million COVID-19 cases and about 5-6 million people will die by July-August, and the country’s healthcare system was “incapable” to combat the disease… However, I am happy to say that in the eighth month of the battle, India has the best recovery rate of 75 per cent and against an estimate of 300 million affected we have not even reached 3 million cases,” he said.

The minister said these successes were achieved due to the “coordinated” efforts with the participation of everyone — the government and the people. India has the lowest mortality rate of 1.87 percent in the world, he said, adding the recovery rate was improving every day.

-with agency inputs

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Zydus launches cheapest remdesivir version in India at Rs 2,800 per vial

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Zydus Cadila has launched remdesivir under the brand name RemdacTM in the Indian market for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The drug is priced at Rs 2,800 for a 100 mg lyophilized injection, RemdacTM and is the most economical Remdesivir brand in India.

The drug will be made available across India through the group’s strong distribution chain reaching out to Government and private hospitals treating COVID patients, the company said in a regulatory filing.

In June 2020, Zydus had entered into a non-exclusive agreement with Gilead Sciences Inc., to manufacture and sell Remdesivir, the investigational drug, which has been issued an Emergency Use Authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients suffering from severe symptoms of COVID 19.

“RemdacTM is the most affordable drug as we would like to enable patients to have access to this critical drug in the treatment of COVID 19”, said Dr. Sharvil Patel, the Managing Director of Cadila Healthcare Limited. “Through the course of this pandemic, our efforts have been focused on supporting people in this healthcare crisis, whether it is through developing vaccines, ramping up production and distribution of critical drugs and therapies, making diagnostic tests available or exploring new treatment options”, he added.

The API for the drug has been developed and manufactured at the group’s API manufacturing facilities in Gujarat, the company said.

Zydus is the fifth company to launch remdesivir in India after Cipla, Hetero Labs Ltd, Mylan NV and Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd.

Zydus has launched the drug at Rs 2,800 for a 100 mg which is the lowest in India.

In June, Cipla had launched remdesivir under the brand name Cipremi at a price of around Rs 5,000 per 100 mg vial while Jubilant Life Science, on August 3, launched the drug under the brand name ‘JUBI-R’ in the Indian market priced at Rs 4,700 per vial of 100 mg (lyophilized injection)

In July, Mylan announced the commercial launch of Remdesivir under brand name DESREM in India at Rs 4,800 per 100 mg vial.

India is one of the worst-hit countries by the coronavirus in the world. India’s COVID-19 tally added almost 64,000 cases in a day, taking the overall tally to 23,86,461.

On Thursday, the shares of Cadila Healthcare ended 0.16 percent higher at Rs 385.00 on the BSE.

Catch all the latest updates from the stock market here.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

COVID vaccine to be ready by December this year, says Adar Poonawala of Serum Institute

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The country should have a vaccine against the COVID-19 virus by the end of this year, said Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India (SII) – the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Poonawalla said starting December, the company will launch a COVID-19 vaccine.

“We are going to start trials in less than two weeks. The trial is in partnership with ICMR. We will start manufacturing vaccines by the end of August,” Poonawalla said.

On Friday, the Serum Institute of India had announced the partnership with Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to accelerate the manufacture and delivery of up to 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for India and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, via its Strategic Investment Fund, will provide at-risk funding of $150 million to Gavi, which will be used to support the Serum Institute of India to manufacture potential vaccine candidates, and for future procurement of vaccines for low- and middle-income countries via Gavi’s COVAX AMC.

The funding will support at-risk manufacturing by SII for candidate vaccines from AstraZeneca and Novavax, which will be available for procurement if they are successful in attaining full licensure and WHO Prequalification.

On the price of the vaccine, he said that $3 is a risk-sharing price for the vaccine.

“$3 is a special price because of the funding we received. Pricing of the vaccine will be slightly higher once licenses are in place. Final pricing for the vaccine will be announced in two months,” he added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow