India boosts arsenal against COVID-19 with Merck pill, two more vaccines
India has approved Merck's COVID-19 pill and two more vaccines for emergency use as the world's second most
India's government said on Thursday it has inked a deal with domestic vaccine maker Biological-E for 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for INR15 billion (US$205.62 million), the first such order for unapproved shots.
The vaccine, which is currently undergoing phase-3 clinical trials, is likely to be available in the next few months, the health ministry said in a statement.
Biological E., which also has a separate deal to produce about 600 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 shot annually, said on Tuesday it entered into a licensing agreement with Providence
Therapeutics Holdings to manufacture the Canadian company's mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in India.
Biological-E will run a clinical trial of Providence's vaccine in India and seek emergency use approval.
India, world's second most populous country has suffered a disastrous second wave of infections that is only now abating. Health experts India needs to carry out mass vaccination of its 1.3 billion people to reduce the impact of subsequent waves.