Developing Covaxin was an enormous challenge: Bharat Biotech

Bengaluru, Nov 19: Bharat Biotech Director, V. Krishna Mohan, has said developing the Covaxin in "just 10 months" was an enormous challenge. Addressing a session on Thursday at the Bengaluru Tech Summit-2021, he said there were no vaccines when the Covid-19 hit India, and the world.

"This was a daunting challenge for the pharma sector and the prospective vaccine makers. We were given just 10 months to develop a vaccine to fight the infection but we could succeed in developing Covaxin swiftly at a level within these few months," he said.

The Central government took the right steps at that juncture, the Bharat Biotech Director added.

"There were no such past precedents and it seems impossible to make a vaccine in such a short span of time," he said.

The company chalked out a plan to make and develop the vaccine in India, he added.

V. Krishna Mohan further said it is difficult to quantify the hard work that went into the making of the vaccine, adding the company did not compromise on the quality or efficacy of the vaccine at any point of time.

He said Bharat Biotech was successful in releasing Covaxin in a record time and helped to save lives of crores of fellow Indians.

The Indian Council of Medical Research has positively changed its style of functioning in the last decade, he added.

Participating in the session, Deepak Sapra, CEO, API & Services, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, said: "Covid has taught us tough lessons. With the help of our Russian partner we could develop 'Sputnik V' vaccines which not only helped India but also other developed countries. However, in respect of vaccine development it is a long way to go for India and Indian pharma companies."

Divya Bizwan, Senior Vice-President of Aurobindo Pharma, said there was no dearth of talent in India.

"But, there is hardly any recognition for talent in pharma companies. It is necessary for vaccine makers to recognize this need and be more encouraging to the pool of talent that Indian pharma sector has."
Atin Tomar, CEO of Yapan Bio, also participated in the session.