Serum Institute of India (SII) chief Adar Poonawalla on Saturday said he is hopeful of launching a new COVID-19 vaccine under the brand name Covovax by June. The Institute had earlier applied for clearance to conduct a trial for the vaccine in India.
Covovax is being developed by American company Novavax.
The vaccine was found to be 89.3% effective in a U.K. trial and was nearly as effective in protecting against the U.K. variant. Mr. Poonawalla has said the SII’s partnership with Novavax, a vaccine undergoing trials for effectiveness against the novel coronavirus, has published “excellent efficacy results”.
Taking to Twitter, Mr. Poonawalla wrote, “Our partnership for a COVID-19 vaccine with @Novavax has also published excellent efficacy results. We have also applied to start trials in India. Hope to launch #COVOVAX by June 2021!”
Apart from Covovax, four more vaccines are in the pipeline for India.
