Tata Group has started talks with Moderna Inc to launch the COVID-19 vaccine in India, the report said.
Tata Group's healthcare venture is said to have started initial discussions with Moderna Inc for a partnership to launch its COVID-19 vaccine in India, the Economic Times reported on Monday. Reportedly, Tata Medical & Diagnostics could team up with the India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to carry out clinical trials of Moderna's vaccine candidate in India. Moderna vaccine is a better option for poor countries as it can be stored at normal fridge temperatures while Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius or below.
The Indian government has made it mandatory for all vaccine making companies to conduct an additional local study to get it approved for the vaccination programme. Although, the government gave emergency-use approval to both vaccines- Covishield and Covaxin. Moderna's last-stage study revealed that its overall efficacy was 94.1% and there were no serious side effects of the vaccine. The vaccine has been approved for use by the United States of America and Europe.
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