India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine candidate received approval from drug regulators

Yesterday, the Department of Biotechnology said, “The country’s first indigenous mRNA vaccine candidate developed by Genova, Pune has received approval from drug regulators to initiate Phase 1/2 human clinical trials.”

“Instead, the mRNA vaccine carries the molecular instructions to make the protein in the body through a synthetic RNA of the virus. The host body uses this to produce the viral protein that is recognized and thereby making the body mount an immune response against the disease. The mRNA-based vaccines are scientifically the ideal choice to address a pandemic because of their rapid developmental timeline,” said a release from the ministry of science and technology.

The release added, “The neutralizing antibody response of the vaccine in mice and non-human primates was comparable with the sera from the convalescent patients of COVID-19. Genova’s vaccine candidate uses the most prominent mutant of spike protein (D614G) and also uses the self-amplifying mRNA platform, which gives the advantage of a low dosing regimen compared with the non-replicating mRNA or traditional vaccines.” “HGCO19 uses the adsorption chemistry so that the mRNA is attached on the surface of the nano-lipid carrier to enhance the release kinetics of the mRNA within the cells compared to the encapsulation chemistry.”