Tata Sons is in talks to partner with US company Moderna to launch its Covid-19 vaccine in India via its newly formed subsidiary Tata Medical & Diagnostics. Tata could team up with the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), the government’s key R&D organisation, to carry out clinical trials of Moderna’s vaccine candidate in India, the Economic Times reported citing officials familiar with the development.
The government mandates phase-3 trials for foreign vaccine companies before launching their products in the country even if the vaccines are approved outside India.
Moderna received funding in January 2020 from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which is part of the COVAX facility of the World Health Organization, to develop its mRNA vaccine against the Covid-19 virus. Moderna's vaccine, which is based on mRNA technology, has reported 94.1 per cent efficacy in treating patients infected with COVID-19. Besides, the US company's vaccine has been approved for use in countries including the US, Canada, and the UK.
The vaccine appeared to have high effectiveness in clinical trials (efficacy) among people of diverse age, sex, race, and ethnicity categories and among persons with underlying medical conditions.
mRNA vaccines work in a different way than traditional vaccines that put a weakened or inactivated germ into our bodies. Instead, mRNA teaches the cells how to make a protein—or even just a piece of a protein—that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.
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Unlike Pfizer's vaccine, which must be kept at minus 70 degrees Celsius or below, Moderna's can be stored at normal fridge temperatures, making it more suited for poorer countries such as India where cold chains are limited.
If approved, Moderna will join Covaxin, by Bharat Biotech and state-run Indian Council of Medical Research, and Covishield, manufactured by Oxford University and AstraZeneca and being produced by the Serum Institute in India. Both the vaccines were given emergency approval by DCGI in view of the COVID situation.