New Delhi: Bharat Biotech, the pharma company that is producing India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with ICMR has announced that the vaccine has proven its efficacy in animal studies, and generated a robust immune response, news agency IANS reported. 

The vaccine, dubbed as Covaxin, is currently being tested at 12 institutes around the country. It is one of the three vaccines that were being tested in the country, including Zydus Caldia’s Zy-CoV-D and Oxford’s Covishield. Trials of the latter have currently been paused after AstraZeneca paused the corresponding trials in the UK after a woman participant developed neurological symptoms. 

“Bharat Biotech proudly announces the animal study results of COVAXIN — these results demonstrate the protective efficacy in a live viral challenge model,” the Hyderabad-based firm said.

The drug-maker added: “The vaccine candidate was found to generate robust immune responses. Thus, preventing infection and disease in the primates upon high amounts of exposure to live SARS-CoV-2 virus.”

A two-dose vaccine was administered to 20 rhesus macaques, who were divided into four groups.

Group 1 was given a placebo, while the other three groups were given three different vaccine candidates on day 1 and 14. All groups were then exposed to a viral challenge, 14 days after the second dose. 

“The results showed protective efficacy, increasing SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG and neutralizing antibodies, reducing replication of the virus in the nasal cavity, throat, and lung tissues of the monkeys,” Bharat Biotech added.

No signs or symptoms of pneumonia were observed by histopathological examination in vaccinated groups, while they were seen in the placebo group. No adverse side effects were seen in the animals either.