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The Poona-based, billionaire philanthropist Dr Cyrus and Adar Poonawalla (pictured) owned, Serum Institute of India Private Limited (SII) is preparing a preventive "candidate vaccine” for pre-clinical trials to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19), and "possibly even human trials within six months,” reported The Times of India (ToI) of February 18, 2020. The vaccine is being developed in collaboration with the American biotechnology firm Codagenix. The ToI report called the development "an important breakthrough” as it would "significantly reduce the time taken to build a shield against the virus.” As of February 19, over 75,000 cases of illness and 2,100 deaths have been reportedly caused by the virus in China, where the first instance occurred in early December, and two dozen other countries, according to news reports.
SII’s chief executive officer Adar told ToI that the company had "marched ahead” by generating a candidate vaccine in Codagenix’s US laboratories. "Our vaccine-virus strain is identical to the original virus and can generate a robust immune response,” he stated. Noting that human trials will commence "within six months,” Adar stated that the vaccine was the "fastest made-in-India vaccine to enter this (human testing) phase.” Subject to regulatory clearances and human studies, "we hope to be ready with the vaccine by 2022,” he noted. The cost of the project is "up to Rs 300 crore, for which SII aims to secure external funding via various global partners,” Adar informed The Economic Times of February 19.
SII is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced and sold globally. Codagenix Inc is located in Long Island, New York.