India’s 1st mRNA Vaccine Candidate Gets Approval For Human Trails

The country’s first indigenous mRNA Covid-19 vaccine candidate has received approval from Indian drug regulators to initiate Phase I/II human clinical trials.

The mRNA vaccine candidate – HGCO19 – has been developed by Pune-based company Gennova, and has been approved for the phase I trial.

The variation comes from the fact that mRNA vaccines do not use the conventional model to produce an immune response. Instead, they carry the molecular instructions to make the protein in the body through a synthetic RNA of the virus.

The mRNA vaccine is considered safe as is non-infectious, non-integrating in nature, and degraded by standard cellular mechanisms.

Although the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech are the first mRNA vaccines to complete all clinical trial stages and be licensed for use shortly.

Gennova, which has collaborated with HDT Biotech Corporation, Seattle in the USA, has to work together in developing an mRNA vaccine candidate.