For a few months recently, Krishna Ella had been in the eye of a storm. It all started in early January, when India gave restricted emergency approval for his company’s indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, as part of the countrywide vaccine rollout plan. At that time, Covaxin was still in the midst of its phase 3 trials involving over 26,000 people, and no data regarding its efficacy had been published.
Covaxin, manufactured by Ella’s 25-year-old company Bharat Biotech, was developed using a whole-virion inactivated vero cell, according to the company. That means, the vaccine was made of dead coronaviruses, which when administered, allowed immune cells to recognise the dead virus, prompting the immune response against it.
While the phase 1 and 2 clinical trials conducted on 755 participants demonstrated a high safety profile of the vaccine with seroconversion rates of 98.3 percent and 81.1 percent on day 56 and 104, respectively, questions still loomed over the efficacy of the vaccine in controlling the spread of the virus.
The concerns were further accentuated when Adar Poonawalla, whose company Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines and the maker of the Covishield vaccine— the Indian version of the popular Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine— claimed that only three vaccines in the world had passed all the scientific evaluations with others only “safe like water”. Poonawalla’s statement came immediately after the government approved Covishield and Covaxin for emergency use.
Denne historien er fra March 26, 2021-utgaven av Forbes India.
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Denne historien er fra March 26, 2021-utgaven av Forbes India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Home-Cooked Meal Is Now Greatly Valued
The pandemic has also brought with it an improved focus on hygiene, use of technology in dining, rise of cloud kitchens and resurgence in popularity of Indian ingredients
Paytm 3.0 - Reaching Near Breakeven In Two Years
As of 2020, Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s super app for financial services had run up losses in thousands of crores. Now, as digital payments gets yet another boost courtesy Covid-19, he’s hopeful of reaching near breakeven in two years
THE PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED WOMEN GREATER LABOUR PAIN
Covid-19 has shown that women are more likely to face the brunt of job losses than men, and find fewer opportunities when they want to resume. That apart, several have to deal with increased hours of unpaid work at home and even domestic abuse
LEADERSHIP WILL BE ABOUT SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE
Leaders must not only guard their teams first during a crisis, but also deal with stakeholders with respect and dignity. And apart from pursuing business goals, they should remain committed to our planet and the environment
PHILANTHROPY SHOULD BE HUMBLE, BUT NOT MODEST
Apart from building a flexible and resilient framework for the future, philanthropists, civil society and the government must work in tandem so that every rupee is absorbed on the ground
INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE, TECH WILL DISRUPT SECTOR
While clinical research will get a boost, having a skilled workforce and public spending on health care will be challenges in the near term
DIGITALISATION WILL HELP IN VALUE CREATION
As the pandemic brings technology and innovation to the core of business and daily life, the next decade will see about 150 million digital-first families in India
Industry 4.0: Climate Revolution?
Augmenting sustainability alongside digital capabilities is an economic, competitive and global opportunity for India’s businesses, but regulations need to reflect intent
EV Dream Still Miles Away
Electric vehicles have remained a buzzword in India for years. But not much has moved on ground due to high upfront costs, range anxiety and charging infrastructure
Living Waters
A virus has caused us to scramble for oxygen but our chokehold on the environment is slowly strangling the very waters that breathe life into us. The virus is a timely reminder: We are merely consumers, not producers of life’s breath on this planet
