India's Bharat Biotech Claims 'Robust Immune Response' in Animal Trial for COVID-19 Vaccine, an Industrial Info Market Brief

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Indian bio-pharma major Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL), which has partnered with the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) National Institute of Virology (NIV) to manufacture and distribute India's first indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine, says its vaccine candidate Covaxin was found to generate robust immune responses in non-human primates.

According to BBIL, a two-dose vaccination regimen of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates was administered in 20 rhesus macaques, divided into four equal groups. One group was administered with a placebo, while three groups were immunized with three different vaccine candidates at 0 and 14 days.

"The results showed protective efficacy, increasing SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG and neutralizing antibodies, reducing replication of the virus in the nasal cavity, throat and lung tissues of monkeys," BBIL said in a statement. "Further, no evidence of pneumonia was observed by histopathological examination in vaccinated groups, unlike the placebo group."

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