30 COVID-19 Vaccine Projects Afoot In India

When it comes to India that produces 60 per cent of the world’s vaccines and accounts for 60-80 per cent of the United Nations’ annual vaccine procurement, development of a new vaccine is a major task. But what works in India’s favour in the race for a vaccine is that a number of Indian firms are key players in the global vaccine industry. So, along with employing different technology platforms for vaccine development, India has adopted a cross-functional collaborative approach, globally and locally, wherein currently 30 vaccine projects are afoot against COVID-19.

Researchers world over are working around the clock to find a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts estimate that a fast-tracked vaccine development process could speed a successful candidate to market in approximately 12-18 months if the process goes smoothly from conception to market availability.

A striking feature of the vaccine development landscape for COVID-19 is the range of technology platforms being evaluated, including nucleic acid (DNA and RNA), virus-like particle, peptide, viral vector (replicating and non-replicating), recombinant protein, live attenuated virus and inactivated virus approaches.

The interesting part is that many of these platforms are not currently the basis for licensed vaccines. For example, globally there are no approved mRNA or DNA vaccines, and neither have ever been tested in a large-scale clinical trial for an infectious disease.

Now, when it comes to India that produces 60 per cent of the world’s vaccines and accounts for 60-80 per cent of the United Nations’ annual vaccine procurement, development of a new vaccine using a new technology is a major task. Back in 2014, Rotavac vaccine was the first to be conceived and developed from scratch in India.

India has so far not been at the forefront of developing vaccines, but what works in India’s favour in the race for a vaccine is that a number of Indian firms are key players in the global vaccine industry. So, along with employing different technology platforms for vaccine development, India has adopted a cross-functional collaborative approach, globally and locally, wherein currently 30 vaccine projects are afoot against COVID-19.