Corbevax gets DCGI nod as Covid booster shot for those 18 and above

Pharmaceuticals firm Biological E’s COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax has been cleared by Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) as a heterologous coronavirus booster dose for those 18 and above. Corbevax is India’s first indigenously developed protein sub-unit COVID-19 Vaccine. It is a “recombinant protein sub-unit” vaccine, developed from a component of the spike protein on the virus’s surface, which helps the body build the immune response against the virus. The vaccine has the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein as an antigen, and also an optimum adjuvant consisting of Dynavax (DVAX) CpG 1018 and alum.

Corbevax was accorded Emergency Use Authorization as a COVID-19 vaccine and is available for consumption only in India via authorized channels. It is offered in a single-dose vial.

Earlier in May, India’s drug regulator had granted Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for Biological E’s Corbevax for children in 5 to 12 years group along with Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children in the age group of 6 to 12 years.

Last month, Biological E has reduced the price of Corbevax to Rs 250 from Rs 840 a dose, inclusive of goods and services tax, for private vaccination centres, In March when the inoculation of children in the age group of 12 to 14 years started in India, Corbevax vaccine was used and its price was fixed at Rs 145 for the government’s vaccination programme.

Biological E had collaborated with Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine in the development of Corbevax. Prior to receiving EUA for vaccination, the company said it conducted phase II and III multi-centre clinical trials in 624 children aged 5-12 and 12-18.