Coronavirus: SII dismisses media reports over availability of COVID-19 vaccine in 73 days

Covishield will be commercialised only after trials are proven successful and all the requisite regulatory approvals are in place.

New Delhi: The current claims over the coronavirus vaccine, Covishield, are completely false and it will be commercialised when trials prove successful and regulatory approvals are in place, said Serum Institute of India (SII) on Sunday (August 23).

SII issued this clarification after reports in the media began appearing which claimed that Covishield- Oxford University's vaccine candidate, will be commercialised in a little over two months.

Clarification statement from Serum Institute of India on news about commercialising the vaccine in 73 days. Serum...

Posted by Serum Institute Of India on Sunday, August 23, 2020

The phase three trials for the Oxford vaccine candidate are being conducted by SII in India.

"Serum Institute of India clarifies that the current claims over Covishield's availability in the media are completely false and conjectural. Presently, the government has granted us permission to only manufacture the vaccine and stockpile it for future use," SII said.

"Covishield will be commercialised once trials are proven successful and requisite regulatory approvals are in place. Phase-3 trials for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine are underway. Only once the vaccine is proven immunogenic and efficacious, SII will confirm its availability officially," it added.

The pharmaceutical giant had initiated the phase 2,3 clinical trials to evaluate the safety and immune response of coronavirus vaccine candidates on healthy Indian adults after it got approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) earlier this month.