APPROVED ASIAN INDIGENOUS VACCINES

Global shortages of COVID-19 vaccines have sparked the race to develop home-grown versions. Developing a domestic COVID-19 vaccine will accelerate the country’s vaccine sovereignty and reduce its dependence on vaccine imports. India and China own maximum ventures in this dimension to meet the demand and supply of COVID vaccines for its billion population.  COVAXIN, India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, a whole-virion inactivated COVID-19 vaccine candidate by Bharat Biotech.  Corbevax: India-based biopharma firm Biological E. Limited (BioE) has been licensed to develop and produce CORBEVAX, the first vaccine in India to be approved as a heterologous COVID-19 booster shot. Corbevax, a protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine consists of SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) spike protein, adjuvanted with aluminum hydroxide gel, and CpG 1018. It was developed by the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and Dynavax technologies based in California. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to fund the expansion of Biological E’s manufacturing capabilities allowing the production of at least 1 billion doses by the end of 2022. Since the vaccine is intended for low-income countries, it is designed to be easily stored and manufactured. The vaccine technology is given patent-free to manufacturers and is planned to be openly licensed under COVAX.  ZyCoV-D: India- based pharmaceutical company Zydus Lifesciences Limited developed ZyCoV-D a DNA plasmid-based COVID-19 vaccine. On August 20, 2021, it received approval for emergency use in India. On April 23, 2021, production of the ZyCoV-D vaccine was started, with a yearly capacity of 240 million doses. The interim analysis of the ZyCoV-D vaccine indicates efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity in its phase 3 trial.  SKYCovione: South Korea’s SK Bioscience and the Institute for Protein Design (IPD) at the University of Washington, have developed the SKYCovione vaccine by utilising GSK’s AS03 adjuvant technology. On June 29, 2022, SKYCovione was authorised by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (KMFDS) for use in South Korea. SK Bioscience reported record high revenues of KRW 929 billion ($763.8 million) in 2021, up from just KRW 225.6 billion earlier, boosted by the vaccine manufacturing agreements.  MVC-COV1901: Taiwan’s Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corporation in association with American company Dynavax Technologies, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health has developed MVC-COV1901 (MVC COVID-19 vaccine). This vaccine is made by the recombinant S-2P spike protein coupled with Dynavax CpG 1018 adjuvant. On July 19, 2021, the MVC COVID-19 vaccine obtained EUA approval in Taiwan.  Zifivax (ZF-UZ-VAC-2001), is an adjuvanted protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese firm Anhui Zhifei Longcom in collaboration with the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Zifivax is approved for Emergency use in China, Colombia, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan.  KCONVAC: Minhai COVID-19 vaccine trademarked as KCONVAC developed by Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co. Ltd and its subsidiary, Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co., Ltd. On May 14, 2021, the vaccine became the fourth inactivated Chinese vaccine to be authorised for emergency use. This vaccine also is referred to as SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cells), KconecaVac.  Convidecia (CanSino): Chinese firm CanSino Biologics developed AD5-nCOV, trade-named Convidecia, a single-dose viral vector vaccine for COVID-19. On May 19 2022, WHO issued EUL for the vaccine.  CoronaVac: Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine (CoronaVac), is a whole inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech.  COVILO: Beijing-based firm (Sinopharm developed COVILO, a formulation of the SARS-CoV-2 strain which is inoculated on the Vero cells for culturing.  Inactivated_Vero Cells: Wuhan-based Sinopharm has developed a vaccine by inoculating Vero Cell with Inactivated SARS-CoV-2, 19nCoV-CDC-Tan-HB02 strain, to harvest β-propiolactone-inactivation which is extracted using aluminium hydroxide adjuvant to form the liquid vaccine.