SRM hosp chosen for human trials of Covid-19 vaccine

SRM hosp chosen for human trials of Covid-19 vaccine

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 04.06.2020

SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre in Kattankulathur, around 40km from the city, will be one of the 12 institutions and the only site in Tamil Nadu chosen by ICMR to conduct the human clinical trials of the first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine (BBV152 Covid Vaccine), where volunteers will be immunised with the vaccine.

The Drug Controller General of India recently gave its nod for human clinical trials for the vaccine called Covaxin. According to ICMR, the vaccine is derived from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 isolated by ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune. ICMR and Bharat Biotech International Limited, Hyderabad, are jointly working for the preclinical as well as clinical development of this vaccine.

A release from SRM said Dr Satyajit Mohapatra, associate professor from the department of pharmacology, has been chosen as the principal investigator for the clinical trials at SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre. SRM research centre was earlier involved in clinical trials for Rotavirus vaccine administered for protection against rotavirus infections, which causes severe diarrhea, and Pentavalent vaccine administered to protect children from five diseases including Hepatitis B and Dipertheria, Pertussis and Tetanus.

A senior doctor involved in clinical trials at the SRM hospital said they are awaiting the detailed protocol to be followed for the trials from the sponsor and ICMR, but the trial will begin only after approval from the ethics committee, approval from the site administrator and the availability of the faculty.

According to ICMR, the vaccine is derived from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 isolated by ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune. ICMR and Bharat Biotech International Limited, Hyderabad, are jointly working for the preclinical and clinical development of this vaccine