The coronavirus Oxford vaccine that was tested on monkeys showed the best prospects and might be mass-produced soon.
On Tuesday, the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest maker of vaccines confirmed that plans to create 60 million doses of a possible vaccine that is under study by the University of Oxford in Britain.
The vaccine candidate, called "ChAdOx1 nCoV-19", needs to be verified if it will work on humans, after getting the result from animal studies, said the Serum Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla said.
Animal studies using rhesus macaque monkeys were inoculated with the sample in the National Institutes of Health's Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana recently, reported the New York Times.
Vincent Munster noted that the primates were exposed to the coronavirus in a large dose, all the six primates were alive after 28 days when the test was done.
Poonawalla told Reuters in a phone interview, he said," They are a bunch of very qualified, great scientists. That's why we said we will go with this and that's why we are confident,"
One of the advantages of their company is they are not accountable to public investors or bankers, I can risk and sideline any of the other commercial products and projects that I had planned in my existing facility.
He expects the trials to adjourn in September, that would yield desired results. Oxford scientists confirmed the objective of the tests if the vaccine worked, with a good immune response without any negative effects like remdesivir, chloroquine, and hydroxychloroquine. The mentioned repurposed drug has negative side effects.
All over the world, the race for a vaunted coronavirus cure will give the edge to the country which gets it first. China and other nations are rushing cures, which India sees as crucial to its national interest. There are 100 potential cures in many stages of development, by their biotech's and scientist exploring repurposed drugs or antibody-based vaccines.
The firm 'Serum' is owned by the billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla, who has plans to create and perfect a vaccine that will cure the coronavirus, once and for all. Manufacturing the cure will be at the western city of Pune, that will mass-produce a planned 400 million doses in 2021, should the vaccine clear all obstacles.
He added, "A majority of the vaccine, at least initially, would have to go to our countrymen before it goes abroad." Poonawalla said that Serum will let the Indian government decide who gets it first, also at how many doses and what time frame.
If the vaccine does prove successful the Indian government can leverage the cure to its national and humanitarian interest, choosing those who will get the cure first.
Serum sees a price of 1,000 rupees (USD 14.70) per dose, but it was stressed that the giveaway price should be given without charge to people, Poonawalla added. He mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office is "very closely" involved in the vaccine production, with some help from the government in its production.
But, Poonawalla mentioned that the government was willing to help fund the vaccine too, and share risk. The serum has joined several biotechs as well. With high hopes, the coronavirus Oxford vaccine used in monkeys will prove successful.
