Srilagna Sarkar, Amity University Kolkata
Tata Medical and Diagnostics are in talks to team up with India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in order to carry out Moderna’s vaccine candidate in India. Tata Group’s healthcare venture is said to have started the initial discussion with Moderna Inc on partnership in launching its COVID-19 vaccine in India. Unlike Pfizer’s vaccine which requires minus 70 degrees Celsius or below degree temperature to store the vaccine. Moderna’s vaccine can be easily stored at normal Fridge temperature, making it suitable for India and other poor countries where cold chains are limited. Data released from the last-stage study in November showed it to be 94.1% effective and with no serious concerns of safety, the shot has also been approved in the United States in December and in Europe earlier this month. India has further mandated that any vaccine producer must conduct an additional local study if to be considered for the world’s biggest vaccination program.
As of now, a vaccine by Bharat Biotech and state-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the other licensed from Oxford University and AstraZeneca that is being produced by the Serum Institute has been approved for emergency trials. Although India’s Drug controller has said the AstraZeneca vaccine, branded as COVIDSHIELD, has 70.42% efficacy based on trials done overseas, the approval for Bharat Biotech’s COVAXIN has faced quite heavy criticism due to lack of efficacy reports.
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