`ZyCoV-D': Second vaccine for children in India from Zydus supplies 1st consignment to govt

Hyderabad: Zydus has become the second pharma company to launch vaccine for children.

`ZyCoV-D' will be priced at Rs 265 per dose and the applicator being offered at Rs. 93 per dose excluding GST. Zydus has started supplying the COVID-19 vaccine to the government.

ZyCoV-D will be the second vaccine available for kids in the age group of 15-18 after Covaxin.

The DNA vaccine produced by Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila is a three-dose vaccine. ZyCoV-D is to be administered 28 days apart.

In November 2021, the firm had said that it had received an order to supply one crore doses of its coronavirus vaccine to the Indian government.

"Zydus Cadila has received an order to supply one crore doses of ZyCoV-D, the world's first Plasmid DNA Vaccine, to the Government of India at Rs 265 per dose and the needle-free applicator being offered at Rs 93 per dose, excluding GST," the pharma firm had said in a regulatory filing in the stock market.

World's first DNA platform-based Covid-19 vaccine has got Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the drug regulatory authority in August 2021.

The 3-dose regimen vaccine can be administered to adults. It is also the first vaccine that can be administered to children aged 12 and above.

Zydus conducted clinical trials for ZyCoV-D at more than 50 centers in India, making it the largest such trial in the country. The volunteers included around 1,000 children aged 12-18, the first vaccine trial for adolescents in India.

The Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical firm stated that it plans to manufacture 10-12 crore doses.

ZyCoV-D has shown good stability at temperatures of around 25 degrees for at least three months. The thermostability of the vaccine will help in easy transportation and storage of the vaccine without any problems of fluctuations in temperature.