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zycov-d

Zydus begins supply of ZyCoV-D to center

by Medically Speaking Team February 2, 2022

Zydus Cadila, a pharmaceutical company, said on February 2 that it has begun supplying the Central Government with its COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D.

The company has begun supplying in response to the government’s directive, according to a statement from the pharmaceutical company.

The organisation also intends to make the vaccine available on the private market, according to the statement.

“The vaccine will be priced at ₹265 per dose and the applicator being offered at ₹93 per dose, excluding GST,” Zydus Cadila said.

The Ahmedabad-based drugmaker has also entered into a definitive agreement with Shilpa Medicare Ltd., a contract manufacturing organisation, to produce mutually agreeable doses of ZyCoV-D.

It has also entered into an agreement with Enzychem Lifesciences of the Republic of Korea for the manufacturing license and technology transfer for the Plasmid DNA Vaccine, Zydus Cadila noted.

ZyCoV-D is a Plasmid DNA vaccine that produces the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and elicits an immune response mediated by the cellular and humoral arms of the human immune system, which play a vital role in protection from disease as well as viral clearance.

February 2, 2022 0 comment

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Vaccine for at-risk children by next month, says Covid Task Force Chief NK Arora

by Medically Speaking Team November 30, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

Dr. NK Arora, chairman of the country’s Covid Task Force, told NDTV today that vaccination for children with comorbidities will begin in December, followed by the vaccine launch for healthy children in the first quarter of next year. According to him, there is also a push to cut the number of doses of ZyCoV-D – the Zydus-Cadilla vaccine from three to two.
A “prioritisation process” for the country’s 44 crore children is in place, he said, and a list of comorbidities is being developed, just as it is for adults.

“We will go in a stepwise manner. But ultimately, I think somewhere in the latter half of December, I think we should be able to start the paediatric vaccination for priority children. And soon as soon as we finish these, which are 10 to 15 per cent, we move on to healthy children,” Dr Arora told NDTV in an exclusive interview.

Outlining the plan, he said while they are waiting for the dosage trial results of ZyCov-D, “Covaxin has also finished trial and we are expecting by December-end and Covovax (from Serum Institute of India) also to finish their paediatric trial,” he said.

Asked why the authorities are going ahead with with ZyCoV-D or Covishield for children without the approval of the WHO, he said, “We have seen the data, there are no safety concerns” as these are all inactivated vaccines.

Contending that opening of schools is “almost like an emergency” as the children are suffering from “cognitive and intellectual, physical and all sort of social developmental issues”, Dr Arora said, “I would request the whole country this state governments and the private sector schools that schools must be open”.

“Parents should send their children because we have a good a cohort of immunised adults. And special efforts have been made that all schools and staff are immunized. Parents should see that all adults in their families where children are going to school are also immunised, so that children are covered by a ring of protection. In addition to that … most of the children are already infected. So they are protected in a way,” he said.

November 30, 2021 0 comment

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Policies on booster shots and additional Covid shots to be released in two weeks, says NTAGI chief

by Medically Speaking Team November 29, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

COVID-19 task force chairman Dr N K Arora said that a detailed strategy on the booster and additional doses of COVID-19 vaccination will be released in two weeks due to the emergency of the new COVID-19 variation ‘Omicron.’

“National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) is coming up with a comprehensive policy on the booster and additional doses in the next two weeks. The policy will deal with who will require the vaccine, when and how. This needs to be seen in the context that a new variant is coming and with time only we will get to know more information about it. Therefore relevance and effectiveness of the current vaccines will also become apparent with time only,” said Arora.

“There is a difference between booster dose and additional dose. A booster dose is given in a predefined period after two primary doses. Whereas, an additional dose is only given to those people who have problems with their immune function even after the primary doses. If a person’s immune function is not appropriately built you give them an additional dose. So these are two different things,” he added.

On the issue of vaccination of Children, Arora said, “As I have repeatedly been saying that children are our most important asset and we have developed a comprehensive plan for immunising our 44 crore children below the age of 18 years. A prioritisation process is also being built so that children with co-morbidities will be given priority and healthy children will be vaccinated. This plan will be made public very soon. ZyCoV-D , Covaxin, Corbevax and then mRNA vaccine are available for children and I will say it again that vaccines will be available in sufficient quantity for children also.”

The Omicron variant (B.1.1.529), a new variant of the coronavirus, was first reported in Botswana on November 11, 2021, and appeared on November 14 in South Africa. It has been declared a variant of concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

November 29, 2021 0 comment

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60 lakh vaccine doses of ZyCoV-D are ready after production in October: Sources

by Medically Speaking Team October 14, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

As many as 60 lakh doses of Zydus Cadila’s three-dose COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D are ready after production, said government sources.

The Ahmedabad-based pharma company had received emergency use authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on August 20.

ZyCoV-D, a needle-free coronavirus vaccine, is the world’s first plasmid DNA vaccine for COVID-19.It is a three-dose vaccine that will be administered on day zero, day 28, and day 56.

Meanwhile, government sources also told ANI that India will have a vaccine capacity of 28 crore doses in October. Of these, 22 crore doses will be of Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and six crores will be of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

India had procured more than 26 crore doses in September. “India may also start commercial export of COVID-19 vaccine doses in the fourth quarter of the year after having enough number of doses for the country,” sources said. Centre plans to achieve cumulative vaccination coverage of 100 crore doses around October 18. Earlier, the government was expected to reach the target between October 10 to 12.

The Union Health Ministry is planning to celebrate the day with events across the country that involve COVID warriors and healthcare workers, who played an important role in vaccination.

“Once we hit 100 crore dose, we are planning celebration across the country with COVID warriors, frontline workers and healthcare workers,” said sources. India had achieved administering 2.5 crore vaccine doses in a single day on September 17. (ANI)

October 14, 2021 0 comment

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Cadila Healthcare’s starts ZyCov-D production

by Medically Speaking Team April 24, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

With an aim to make up to 240 million doses per year, Cadila healthcare has announced that it has started producing its potential Covid-19 vaccine, emergency use authorization for which will be sought by it in May or June, its MD told Reuters.

The Government officials said they are eagerly waiting for Cadila to seek approval for ZyCov-D soon.

“We have just started producing doses,” Sharvil Patel said in a Microsoft Teams interview. “But it is not meaningfully large.”

He said the aim was to produce 10 million doses a month starting June, taking the in-house annual capacity to 120 million. The rest of the production, as required, will mainly come from third-party producers.

“We are already talking with two other manufacturers. We will slowly add more manufacturers,” Patel said.

Its DNA plasmid product – which involves the injection of a small part of the virus’s genetic code (DNA or RNA) to stimulate immune response in the recipient – is currently meant to be given in three doses but the company is also doing trials on a two-dose regimen, he said.

ZyCoV-D’s success is crucial for India, the country with the world’s biggest vaccine making capacity.

Patel said unlike some other drugmakers hit by US curbs on exports of vaccine raw material, Cadila was sourcing its ingredients domestically.

“We did anticipate those challenges,” he said. “Everything for us is done in India. Our supply chain is secure. We don’t have any issues for the next 14-15 months.”

April 24, 2021 0 comment