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Government expert group reviews 3 Covid-19 vaccines in India
COVID-19 Vaccine
New Delhi: The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration Monday met with five domestic COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, including two whose products are not yet in the clinical trial stages in India, to review the situation.
The two companies are Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, based in Pune, and Biological E in Hyderabad. The remaining three are the Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech, and Zydus Cadila, all of whose vaccines are in different stages of a clinical trial.
According to a government statement on Monday’s expert group meeting: “It provided the National Expert Group with inputs about the present stage of various candidate vaccines being developed by the indigenous manufacturers as well as their expectations from the Union Government.”
Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, in collaboration with HDT Biotech Corporation in Seattle, USA, has developed an mRNA vaccine candidate (HGCO19) with “demonstrated safety, immunogenicity, neutralization antibody activity in the rodent and non-human primate models”.
“The company is working aggressively to ensure first human injection by the end of the year, subject to Indian regulatory approvals,” a PIB statement issued last month stated while announcing a tie-up of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) with the company.
The DBT Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (DBT-BIRAC) had facilitated the establishment of a ‘first-of-its-kind’ mRNA-based vaccine manufacturing platform in India. DBT provided seed funding for the development of Gennova’s novel self-amplifying mRNA-based vaccine candidate for Covid-19, the statement had said.
As for Biological E, the company just announced a tie-up with Johnson & Johnson. In its statement on 13 August, the company said: “Biological E. Limited (“BE”) has entered into an agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV (“Janssen”), one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, for the creation/enhancement of manufacturing capacities for drug substance and drug product for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Ad26.COV2.S. Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate is currently in Phase 1/2a clinical trials.”
INPUT: The Print
An earthquake of Magnitude 4.9 hit Nepal, India, and China at around 03.00 pm IST. Tremors were felt in Nepal with light tremors in some cities like Muzaffarpur, Hajipur, and Patna in the Indian state of Bihar.
The epicenter is said to be 10 km from Phulpingkatti in Nepal. More updates are awaited.
LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II has died in Scotland aged 96 after battling health problems since last October, the Royal Family announced Thursday. Doctors had placed the queen under medical supervision at Balmoral Castle, her estate in the Scottish Highlands.
Buckingham Palace has just released the following statement: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
Her close family rushed to her bedside as doctors grew “concerned” about her health on Thursday, Buckingham Palace said. Her grandson and his wife, Harry and Meghan Markle – who had a public showdown with the Palace, flew in from Canada.
According to news agency AFP, the Queen pulled out of a planned meeting with her senior political advisors on Wednesday, after being told to rest. The previous day she had audiences at Balmoral – her Scottish Highlands retreat, with outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson and appointed his successor, Liz Truss.
In recent months, the Queen appeared visibly frail and had a series of withdrawals from public engagements. She had taken to walking with a stick and was also seen touring the Chelsea Flower Show in a motorized buggy.
In June, the UK came together for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the British throne. Her husband, Prince Phillip, died last year at the age of 99, two months before his 100th birthday.
Queen Elizabeth II’s tenure as head of state spanned post-war austerity, the transition from empire to Commonwealth, the end of the Cold War and the UK’s entry into – and withdrawal from – the European Union.
Her reign spanned 15 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill, born in 1874, and including Liz Truss, born 101 years later in 1975, and appointed by the Queen earlier this week. She held weekly audiences with her prime minister throughout her reign.
The nightingale of the music industry, Lata Mangeshkar Ji passed away on February 6 at the age of 92 in the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. She was born on September 29, 1929. Very few singers have achieved the admiration that she did in her life.
She sang thousands of songs in more than 20 different languages. Not only in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, she was also admired and praised in western countries.
PM Modi was among the first ones to share the sad news. “The kind and caring Lata Didi has left us. She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled. The coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture, whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerise people,” he tweeted.
Apart from Bharat Ratna, she received numerous honors like the Daughter of the Nation award, the Legion of Honour award from the French government, and many more. Lata Mangeshkar truly was a gift that India will never cease cherishing.
We at Giveupnot pay our heartly tributes to her and wish that “unki aatma ko sadgati prapt ho”, OM SHANTI.
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