After WHO nod to Pfizer vaccine, expert panel in India to meet today to approve Covid 19 vaccines—Covishield and Covaxin—for emergency use

As Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine became the first Covid 19 vaccine to get approval of World health Organisation (WHO) for emergency use, an expert panel in the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in India will hold a key meeting on Friday to consider emergency use authorisation applications by the Serum Institute of India (SII) for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine ‘Covishield’ and Bharat Biotech for its COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’.    

Quoting Reuters, Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi said in the process Pfizer become first such company to get World Health Organisation’s nod. “ It is a great achievement any company that gets World Health Organisation stamp on it,” the Market Guru added.  

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 deliberated and analysed the additional data and information submitted by SII and Bharat Biotech Pvt. Ltd.    

“The SEC in the CDSCO met today in the afternoon to consider the emergency use authorisation (EUA) request of Pfizer, SII and Bharat Biotech,” the Health Ministry had said in a statement on Wednesday.    

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“Further time was requested on behalf of Pfizer. The additional data and information presented by SII and Bharat Biotech Pvt. Ltd was perused and analysed by the SEC. The analysis of the additional data and information is going on. The SEC will convene again on January 1, 2021,” it said.  

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on Wednesday approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by scientists at Oxford University and produced by AstraZeneca for human use.  

The Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has entered into a tie-up AstraZeneca to manufacture ‘Covishield’.  
While considering SII’s application, the SEC on December 9 had recommended that the firm should submit updated safety data of phase 2 and 3 clinical trials in the country, immunogenicity data from the clinical trial in the UK and India, along with the outcome of the assessment of the UK MHRA for grant of EUA.  

As for Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, after detailed deliberation, the committee had recommended that the firm should present the safety and efficacy data from the ongoing phase 3 clinical trial in the country for further consideration.  

SII had applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for emergency use authorisation for Covishield on December 6 while the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech had sought a similar nod for its indigenously developed Covaxin on December 7.  

Pfizer had applied for a similar approval for its vaccine on December 4.   

(With inputs from PTI)