DCGI Authorises Emergency Use of Zydus' Covid-19 vaccine for 12 years-plus

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) announced on Tuesday that it has approved Zydus Lifesciences Ltd's double-dose Covid-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D for Emergency Use (EUA).

With this approval, the vaccine will be administered on day 0 and day 28. Previously, the vaccine was approved on a three-dose schedule given on day 0, day 28, and day 56.

The managing director of Zydus Lifesciences, Dr. Sharvil Patel has said that this approval will increase the compliance for the vaccine and reduce the overall time required for vaccination to improve immunity against the virus. 

The vaccine is being manufactured at the Zydus Vaccine Technology Excellence Centre at the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad. ZyCoV-D is also one of the first plasmid DNA vaccines administered intradermally using a painless needle-free system in three doses. Zydus Lifesciences had received an order from the Government of India to supply 10 million doses of ZyCoV-D in November 2021. 

In addition, Zydus has signed a final contract with contract manufacturer Shilpa Medicare Limited to produce mutually acceptable doses of ZyCoV-D. The company has also signed an agreement to manufacture license and technology transfer plasmid DNA vaccines with Enzychem Lifesciences of the Republic of Korea.