CSIR and Aurobindo Pharma collaborate to develop COVID-19 vaccine

Hyderabad: The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Aurobindo Pharma collaborated with each other to develop COVID-19 vaccine.

Under the signed agreement between CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Aurobindo Pharma, Aurobindo will partner with CSIR for development of several novel COVID-19 vaccines.

Three CSIR labs, CCMB Hyderabad, Institute of Medical Technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh and Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Kolkata will develop vaccine candidates using different technology platforms while Aurobindo Pharma will undertake clinical development and commercialization of the vaccines.

“Joining of hands of premier CSIR labs with industry for the development of vaccines will amplify India’s efforts in indigenous vaccine development and also help in preparedness for future pandemics,” said Dr Shekhar C Mande, Director General, CSIR

Aurobindo Pharma Limited based in Hyderabad manufactures generic pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. The company’s manufacturing facilities are approved by regulatory agencies like US FDA, UK MHRA, Japan PMDA, WHO, Health Canada, MCC South Africa, ANVISA Brazil.

Commenting on the development strategies for the vaccines CSIR-CCMB, Director Dr Rakesh Mishra said that,“Our labs are working on novel proteins for vaccine development that has the potential to address the need for a second-generation vaccine. We are happy to partner with Aurobindo who have proven manufacturing and commercialization capabilities”

Apart from this collaboration, Aurobindo Pharma is already developing a vaccine for SARS COV-2 through its wholly-owned US subsidiary Auro Vaccines. The SARS COV-2 vaccine candidate is based on the company’s proprietary replication-competent, attenuated, recombinant vesicular stomatitis (VSV, VesiculoVax™) vaccine delivery platform.

“This collaboration further strengthens our COVID-19 vaccine development efforts. We are already setting up a large-scale facility in Hyderabad for manufacturing COVID-19 vaccine and other viral vaccines,” said Mr N. Govindarajan, Managing Director, Aurobindo Pharma Limited.