Cipla, a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai, has sought the Drugs Controller General of India nod for importing Modernas corona vaccine, sources told.
The company submitted an application seeking approval to import the vaccine, sources further said, adding that DCGI has given a green signal on Tuesday.
Moderna’s method to protect against Covid-19 relies on messenger RNA (mRNA) to program cells to generate immunity to the coronavirus.
This vaccine along with Pfizer is viewed as a preferred choice among wealthy countries, analysts said, based on clinical trial data showing they were more than 90% effective at preventing symptomatic coronavirus.
About 120 million Americans have received a Pfizer or Moderna shot so far with no major safety issue identified. Cipla’s discussions with Moderna on the Covid booster vaccine are nearing finalisation and for that, they are seeking the “partnership and support of the government to make this programme successful”.
Cipla’s latest communication to the Centre comes after a high-level meeting held recently during which it was discussed that Moderna has proposed to launch a single-dose vaccine for the Indian market, for which, they were in discussion with Cipla and other Indian firms.
