Covaxin: First part of Phase-1 results ‘encouraging’, says Rohtak PGIMS

New Delhi: While Phase-1 human trials of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate, are on at most of the 12 sites selected by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) across the country, the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, has claimed “encouraging” results from first part of tests.

Earlier this week, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, administered the first dose of Covaxin to a 30-year-old man. According to Clinical Trials Registry – India (CTRI), the Covaxin Phase-1 and 2 trials are expected to take one year and three months.

Developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Virology (NIV), Covaxin got the nod for human clinical trials from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) last month. 

Besides Covaxin, another experimental shot developed by Zydus Cadila has also begun human clinical trials.

An “inactivated” vaccine, Covaxin has been made using particles of SARS-CoV-2 that were killed so that they would not be able to infect or replicate in those injected with it. Injecting particular doses of these particles will help in building immunity by helping the body create antibodies against the dead virus.

Rohtak Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, which had commenced first part of Phase-1 trials of Covaxin on July 17 on 50 volunteers, reported “encouraging” results.  

“First part of Phase-1 of vaccine trial (Covaxin) has been completed. 50 people across India were administered the vaccine and the results were encouraging. Six people were administered the vaccine on Saturday under the second part of Phase-1,” news agencies quoted Principal Investigator of the vaccine trial team, Dr. Savita Verma as saying.