Gujarat’s Zydus Cadila is ready to roll out world’s first needle-free, plasmid DNA Covid-19 vaccine. The home-grown drugmaker’s three-dose vaccine, ZyCoV-D, received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the regulator Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).
The much anticipated vaccine is a breakthrough of sorts, as ZyCoV-D is an Intra-Dermal vaccine and will help those hesitant to take an injection. It becomes India’s first Covid-19 vaccine for adolescents in the 12-18 age group, and sixth in the pack of vaccines for adults. The vaccine is also the second indigenous one after Bharat Biotech-ICMR’s Covaxin.
The vaccine has been developed in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology under the ‘Mission COVID Suraksha', The 3-dose vaccine once administered produces the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and elicits an immune response. Interim results from Phase-III Clinical Trials, in July, in over 28,000 volunteers, showed a primary efficacy of 66.6 % for symptomatic RT-PCR positive cases.
It's also the only DNA-based vaccine in the world and can be administered without a needle, purportedly minimising chances of reactions.
ZyCoV-D would become the fifth vaccine cleared for use in the country after locally produced Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Russia's Sputnik V and the US-made Moderna. Also, it will become the world’s first DNA vaccine to get the nod in any country.
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