India-made Biological E's vaccine likely to be 90 pc effective; could be game-changer in fight against pandemic : Expert

Dr NK Arora, chairperson of the centres Covid Working Group, said the vaccine will now undergo third phase of clinical trials and could be available for inoculation by October, according to an NDTV report.

"Novavax (of Serum Institute) is very exciting. In the past week it has created a rage because India is going to manufacture almost a billion doses a year. It is going to be simple and cheaper with a 90 per cent vaccine effectiveness," Dr Arora, who is also the Chairperson of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) which guides the government on matters related to vaccination, told NDTV.

"A very similar Indian vaccine is also under phase 3 trial, which is the Bio E vaccine. These vaccines are exciting because we have previous experience on a similar platform. They are safe across the age groups and have very high effectiveness," he said.

The vaccine will be called Corbevax, and is similar to Novavax vaccine, which, according to its maker, is 90 per cent effective against coronavirus, including its variants.

Bio E's vaccine may hold huge potential as it is likely to be available just at Rs 250 for two doses.

The other two vaccines that were mentioned by Dr Arora are Zydus-Cadila's product and other indegenous vaccine based on messenger-RNA Covid vaccine to be manufactured by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals.

Indian m-RNA vaccine is currently in phase 2 trial and likely to be available by September, he said, adding that it is more compatible with Indian conditions-- storage, transport and shelf life.

India's battery of affordable and effective Covid-19 vaccines could be a major help in combating the pandemic and there is a strong chance that the world would have to ultimately depend on us, he said.