Pharma firms must stay healthy to win vaccine race
India companies have slim chance of success without government or donor funding, but stocks surge is a good sign as they rush to find cure for Covid-10 pandemic.
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THE race to produce a vaccine against the novel coronavirus is featuring five Indian multinational pharmaceuticals and biotech companies and two research institutes that are aiming to deliver vaccines and super drugs at prices much below their global counterparts. So far, more than 40 companies across the world are scrambling to find a cure for the pandemic.
Indian pharma companies - which have a long tradition of producing low-cost lifesaving drugs - are working with great speed to find a breakthrough vaccine. To encourage them, India's regulatory Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation announced on March 20 that it was relaxing some standards in order to fast-track the regulatory approval process for vaccines designed to prevent or treat Covid-19.
Intense research is underway across India. Zydus Cadila Ltd is working with the Serum Institute of India (SII). Bharat Biotech Ltd is collaborating with international university researchers.
