Global vaccines to get faster approval: Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotech

Mumbai: India is laying the groundwork for regulatory clearances and guidance documents for domestic manufacturers who wish to bring global Covid-19 vaccine candidates to the country, as it looks at ways to speed up local access to potential vaccines, the secretary at the department of biotechnology (DBT) said.

India is in discussions with global health agencies to start a solidarity trial for vaccines, on the lines of the drug trial that the WHO started for potential Covid-19 treatments, Renu Swarup told ET.

Last week, Pune-based Serum Institute of India and AstraZeneca announced that they were in talks for a manufacturing tie-up for the potential vaccine candidate that the UK drugmaker took over from the University of Oxford There are eight vaccine candidates that are in phase 2 and 3 studies. “If companies want to bring vaccine candidates to India, if and when they succeed in trials, we are working to ensure our labs and regulatory pathways are in place for a speedy trial and approval,” Swarup said.

The DBT is also collaborating with organisations like the Coalition for Vaccine Preparedness Innovations and the National Institute of Health in the US. Swarup said collaborations were not just about institutions coming together, but also of government role in supporting companies. “We have picked up best companies. We will soon announce a vaccine development notification for Covid-19 that would speed up the research work,” Swarup said.