For centuries viruses have caused countless deaths and suffering across the world, with its vast population of one India’s biggest public health challenges is understating these infectious agents and the resulting diseases in order to provide effective solutions. Established in the year 1911 for the promotion, formulation, and coordination of biomedical research Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is known as the apex body in India and is one of the oldest across the world in the field of Medical Research.
The Department of Health Research under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare of Government of India funds the ICMR for all its research, trials and new inventions of vaccine and technology used. Earlier known as IFRA, ICMR has come a long way and has miles to achieve in the fields of Scientific Achievements and Public Health Sector.
ICMR’s function is to conduct, coordinate, and implement the new medical research for the benefit in the public sector of healthcare by inventing new medical products, processes, and then introducing them into the society. One the one hand ICMR has always tried to direct itself towards the surplus demand of scientific advances in the field of biomedical research whereas on the other hand into the need of finding practical solutions to the deadly health issues of the country.
In this time of Pandemic ICMR is trying its best to come up with the vaccine as soon as possible. Recently in news, we heard about COVAXIN.
Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR and the National Institute of Virology Pune has developed this vaccine. It is an inactivated vaccine manufactured in the company’s Bio-Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) High Containment facility located in Hyderabad (Telangana).
Bharat Biotech has received an approval from The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in order to conduct human trials for “COVAXIN”, India’s first potential indigenous coronavirus COVID19 vaccine candidate.
The permission was granted after the company submitted results from pre-clinical studies of the vaccine that demonstrated its safety and immune response. Phase I and II clinical trials will start across India in July 2020. An application for market authorization may be submitted to the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) on the basis of the data from phase III testing and if approved, the vaccine then becomes commercially available in that particular country.
15 out of 200 Covid-19 vaccine candidates have entered clinical trials according to the World Health Organisation (WHO),
The world’s leading candidate, AstraZeneca has reached the final stage in terms of development. and is being developed by researchers at the University of Oxford (UK).
US Firm Moderna’s vaccine (MRNA-1273) will also go into phase III clinical trials in July.
As of now, 12 sites have been identified by ICMR for human trials for the vaccine. In phase one 375 people will be tested for COVAXIN and then 750 in the later stages. Another potential coronavirus covid19 vaccine candidate, which is being produced by Zydus Cadila has also received approval for Phase I/Phase II trials.
Refrence:
- The Hindu
- ICMR
Riya Kumari. (RIYAFICATION)