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Oxford COVID-19 vaccine at least six months away from launch: Adar Poonawalla

The vaccine is currently in Phase III human trials, which is being administered to around 8,000 participants

July 08, 2020 / 08:30 AM IST
2 | Next crop of COVID-19 vaccine developers take more traditional route: The handful of drugmakers dominating the global coronavirus vaccine race are pushing the boundaries of vaccine technology. The next crop under development feature more conventional, proven designs. The world will need several different vaccines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, given the sheer size of global need, variations in effects on different populations, and possible limits of effectiveness in the first crop. Many leading candidates now in final-stage testing are based on new, largely unproven technology platforms designed to produce vaccines at speed.

2 | Next crop of COVID-19 vaccine developers take more traditional route: The handful of drugmakers dominating the global coronavirus vaccine race are pushing the boundaries of vaccine technology. The next crop under development feature more conventional, proven designs. The world will need several different vaccines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, given the sheer size of global need, variations in effects on different populations, and possible limits of effectiveness in the first crop. Many leading candidates now in final-stage testing are based on new, largely unproven technology platforms designed to produce vaccines at speed.

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India (SII), on July 7 said the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine is at least six months away from launch.

One of the vaccine candidate was rushed (referring to Bharat Biotech COVID-19 vaccine pushed by Indian Council of Medical Research), but we will wait till our vaccine is tested on humans for safety and efficacy, Poonawalla said, unveiling of Mylab's ‘Compact XL’ - the fully-automated Sample-to-PCR-ready system for molecular diagnostics.

The vaccine is currently in Phase III human trials, which is being administered to around 8,000 participants. The trial will assess how the vaccine works on a large number of people over the age of 18, and whether it works to prevent people from being infected by COVID-19. The Phase-I trail that began in April has already been completed and the data will be released shortly.

Serum has partnered with British-Swedish drug maker AstraZenaca to manufacture and supply the vaccine in India and other low and middle income countries.


Not enough testingPoonawalla, who is backing a Pune-based molecular diagnostics company,  that emerged as the leading indigenous producer of RT-PCR test kits for COVID-19, called on the government to review its policy on testing.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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"We are certainly not testing enough. The government has placed conditions like doctor prescription for testing or says if you are assymptomatic, you have no business of getting tested. We feel the government should review its policy," Poonawalla said.

Corporates, especially manufacturing companies who want to resume operations are struggling, because current rules don't allow for testing of workforce.

"We want to test out 5,000-6,000 employees at Serum Institute, how do we do it," Poonawalla questioned.

More testing may result in an increase in cases, but it allows to isolate and treat COVID-19 patients and reduce deaths, he said.

Poonawalla called for government to allow exports of test kits after building sufficient buffer. "What are entrepreneurs supposed to do? We have moved so fast with these capacities and no where to sell," he added.


Poonawalla invested Rs 100 crore in Mylab, which has so far contributed about 20 percent of test kits used in 10 million RT-PCR test. Mylab has capacity to produce about 2 million RT-PCR test kits per week, but it producing less than half as there isn't much testing happening. Mylab is offering its test kit below Rs 1,000.


Automated COVID-19 test machine
On July 7, Mylab launched ‘Compact XL’ - India’s first fully-automated Sample-to-PCR-ready system for molecular diagnostics. The machine is designed to automate lab operations from sample handling to RT-PCR ready tube preparation, and do these operations in one single compact benchtop machine.


The machine can be used for a wide range of RNA/DNA-based tests, including COVID-19 RT-PCR tests. The machine can take a variety of sample types such as plasma, tissue, sputum and swab.


“To make India self-reliant in advanced diagnostics, Compact XL is our most ambitious project to date. Compact XL will replace the need of 700 square feet of clean room lab with a 4x3 benchtop machine and reduce the need of three-to-four expert technicians to just one, thus saving operational costs for labs," said Hasmukh Rawal, MD, Mylab Discovery Solutions.

"From patients’ perspective, automated processes will eliminate errors and improve accuracy. For example, robotic movements in the machine are precise to the tune of hundred-thousandths of a ml when handling liquids,” he added.

The machine is expected to reduce the waiting period of COVID-19 testing from two days to a few hours, the company claimed.

first published: Jul 7, 2020 04:05 pm

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