ZyCov-D will be the world’s first DNA vaccine against infection with SARS-CoV-2

ZyCov-D will be the world’s first DNA vaccine against infection with SARS-CoV-2

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila has applied to Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), the national drugs regulator, seeking emergency use authorisation (EUA) for ZyCov-D, its Covid-19 vaccine.

Concept :

• ZyCoV-D, designed and developed by Zydus (a pharmaceutical company) with support from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
• ZyCoV-D, a plasmid DNA vaccine, comes under the Vaccine Discovery Programme supported by the Department of Biotechnology under the National Biopharma Mission.
• Plasmids are circular deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) vectors that can be used as vaccines to prevent various types of diseases.
• Pre-Clinical Phase: It was found to initiate a strong immune response in multiple animal species like mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits.
• The antibodies produced by the vaccine were able to neutralize the wild type virus indicating the protective potential of the vaccine candidate.
• No safety concerns were observed in repeat dose by both intramuscular (directly into muscles) and intradermal (superficial injection into skin) routes of administration.

DNA Vaccine Platform:

• The development of ZyCov-D has established the DNA vaccine platform in the country which is simple to deploy, temperature stable, and consistently manufacturable- thus lowering costs and enhancing the effectiveness of a vaccine.
• It provides ease of manufacturing the vaccine with minimal biosafety requirements.
• It has shown much improved vaccine stability and lower cold chain requirements making it easy for transportation to remote regions of the country.
• Furthermore, the platform can be rapidly used to modify the vaccine in a couple of weeks in case the virus mutates.

National Biopharma Mission

• It is an industry-academia collaborative mission for accelerating biopharmaceutical development in the country.
• It was launched in 2017 at a total cost of Rs. 1500 crore and is 50% co-funded by World Bank loan.
• It is being implemented by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).
• BIRAC is a Public Sector Enterprise, set up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology.
• Under this Mission, the Government has launched Innovate in India (i3) programme to create an enabling ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship and indigenous manufacturing in the biopharma sector.
• Objectives: Development of vaccines, medical devices, diagnostics and biotherapeutics besides, strengthening the clinical trial capacity and building technology transfer capabilities in the country.