India Approves Emergency Use Of 2 Covid Vaccines & Molnupiravir Pill

Advancing more and more on India's vaccine programme, the Central Drug Authority has now approved the Serum Institute of India's COVID-19 vaccine Covovax, Biological E's vaccine Corbevax and anti-Covid pill Molnupiravir for emergency use only. The announcement was made by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday. This decision was taken a day after the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) requested the emergency use authorisation (EUA) of COVID-19 vaccines Covovax and Corbevax for certain situations.

Along with the two vaccines, it had also recommended restricted emergency use approval of the drug pill Molnupiravir for treatment of Covid positive adult patients and who are at a higher risk of severity of the disease. In a tweet, the Union Health minister said, "Congratulations India. Further strengthening the fight against COVID-19, CDSCO, @MoHFW_INDIA has given 3 approvals in a single day for: - CORBEVAX vaccine - COVOVAX vaccine - Anti-viral drug Molnupiravir For restricted use in emergency situation". Here is the tweet below:

Congratulations India ����

Further strengthening the fight against COVID-19, CDSCO, @MoHFW_INDIA has given 3 approvals in a single day for:

- CORBEVAX vaccine
- COVOVAX vaccine
- Anti-viral drug Molnupiravir

For restricted use in emergency situation. (1/5)

— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) December 28, 2021

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In another tweet, Mandaviya said, "Corbevax vaccine is India's 1st indigenously developed RBD protein sub-unit vaccine against #COVID19, Made by Hyderabad-based firm Biological-E. It's a hat-trick! It's now 3rd vaccine developed in India." After getting this approval, the number of COVID-19 vaccines which have received emergency use authorisation (EUA) in the country has reached to eight. Six Covid vaccines, including Serum Institute's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D, Russia's Sputnik V and the US-developed Moderna and Johnson and Johnson, had earlier received EUA from the Indian drug regulator.

The Nanoparticle Vaccine, Covovax, will be manufactured by a firm in Pune, Serum Institute of India, he said. "Molnupiravir, an antiviral drug, will now be manufactured in the country by 13 companies for restricted use under emergency situation for treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 and who have high risk of progression of the disease," Mandaviya added.

EUA to covovax, corbevax and anti-viral drug molnupiravir - What the expert says?

Dr. Namita Jaggi, Chairperson- Lab services and Infection control & Chief- Education & Research, Artemis Hospitals, Gurugram, said, "With the approval of two more Covid-19 vaccines, the total number of Covid vaccines to receive emergency use authorisation in the country has increased to eight. This approval of additional vaccines will help speed up inoculations of ‘precautionary doses’ amid surge in cases of variant of concern (VoC) ‘omicron’ in India. As of now, the government decided to inoculate the precautionary doses to healthcare workers and to those above the age of 60 suffering from co-morbidities."

She further added, "Both the vaccines are protein based subunit vaccines which includes the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Covovax is a recombinant nanoparticle protein-based Covid-19 vaccine which is manufactured by technology transfer from Novavax. The covovax vaccine works by teaching the immune system to make antibodies to the spike protein. The spike protein gene is inserted into a baculovirus (harmless to humans) which produces multiple copies of spike protein. The researchers harvest the spike proteins and assemble them into nanoparticles then inject them into humnas. Each injection includes many spike nanoparticles which attracts immune cells to the site of the injection and activate the immune system to form protective antibodies against spike protein. This technology has been used for decades to make hepatitis B vaccines. Rather than injecting a whole pathogen to trigger an immune response, subunit vaccines contain purified pieces of it which are incapable of causing disease."

Similarly, Corbevax is India's first indigenously developed protein- based vaccine where Scientists recovered the gene sequence for the spike protein of the virus; put it in to yeast to be engineered for developing its copies. Besides, approvals of antiviral drug Molnupiravir will bolster our efforts against covid-19 fight. Simple oral antiviral pills that can be taken to home to keep people with covid-19 out of hospital are critically needed. We welcome the potential new treatment to help prevent serious illness from the virus, which has killed almost 5 million people around the world. This pill targets the replication process of virus and stops it from multiplying inside the body without inducing genetic changes in human cells. A safe and effective oral antiviral would be a huge advance in the fight against COVID.