Covid Vaccine Corbevax Secures WHO's Emergency Use Listing

Corbevax, India's first indigenously manufactured Covid-19 vaccine based on a protein subunit platform, is part of the country's armory in the fight against the deadly virus. The company had given 100 million doses to the Indian government, which were then used in pan-India immunization campaigns, primarily in 12-14 year old children.

Corbevax was approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for restricted use in emergency among adults, adolescents and young children in a sequential manner from December 2021 to April 2022. It became India’s first heterologous Covid-19 booster shot for adults aged 18 and above in June 2022, as per thehindu.

“The EUL will help us to use the platform to continue developing Covid-19 vaccines as and when it starts impacting public health. We are confident this endorsement from WHO will bolster our global fight against Covid-19,” Biological E managing director Mahima Datla said. The company would aim to reach people in countries that face fiscal pressure when it comes to dealing with Covid-19. It is committed to provide affordable and accessible vaccines of high quality and the WHO EUL lays a path to make that possible, she said.

BE stated that it is developing a next-generation Covid-19 vaccine based on the XBB1.5 strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It would follow the recommendations of WHO TAG-CO-VAC, the technical advisory committee for Covid-19 vaccine composition. The candidate vaccine has “completed all required pre-clinical animal studies, which suggest that it will provide adequate protection against the currently circulating variants,” BE said.

The business recently gained final approval from CDSCO to initiate clinical studies of the XBB.1.5 variant vaccine in India. The clinical trials will begin soon at several venues across India.