Zydus Cadila’s plasmid DNA vaccine candidate for COVID-19 has successfully completed the preclinical phase and has now received permission from the Drug Controller General of India - Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to initiate Phase I/II human clinical trials in India. In animal studies the vaccine was found to elicit a strong immune response in multiple animal species like mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits. The antibodies produced by the vaccine were able to completely neutralize the wild type virus in virus neutralization assay indicating the protective potential of the vaccine candidate.
The company has already manufactured clinical GMP batches of the vaccine candidate and plans to initiate the clinical trials in July 2020 across multiple sites in India in over 1000 subjects.
Cadila Healthcare is an India-based pharmaceutical company. The company's subsidiaries include Zydus Wellness, Liva Pharmaceuticals, Biochem Pharmaceutical Industries, Zydus Technologies, German Remedies, Dialforhealth India, Dialforhealth Unity and Dialforhealth Greencross, among others.
