Coronavirus: Serum Institute starts production of Novavax’s vaccine

The Serum Institute of India on Friday said it has begun production of the first batch of Covovax, a coronavirus vaccine developed by biotechnology company Novavax. The vaccine showed an overall efficacy of 90.4% in phase three trials.

“A new milestone has been reached; this week we began our first batch of Covovax [a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Novavax] at our facility, here in Pune: Serum Institute India,” the company said on Twitter.

Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive officer of Serum Institute, congratulated the team. “Excited to witness the first batch of Covovax (developed by @Novavax) being manufactured this week at our facility in Pune,” tweeted Poonawalla. “The vaccine has great potential to protect our future generations below the age of 18. Trials are ongoing. Well done team @seruminstindia! (sic).”

India is yet to approve a coronavirus vaccine for children. India, which launched its vaccination drive on January 16, has been inoculating its population with three Covid-19 vaccines. One is Serum Institute’s Covishield, developed in collaboration with the Oxford University and drug company AstraZeneca. Another is Covaxin, created in partnership of Indian drug company Bharat Biotech and the Union government’s Indian Council of Medical Research. The third is Russia’s Sputnik V.

A new milestone has been reached; this week…

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