- Adjuvant developed with NIH funding enhances the efficacy of India’s COVID-19 vaccine
- The adjuvant used in COVAXIN, Alhydroxiquim-II, was discovered and tested in ViroVax LLC of Lawrence, Kansas
NIH-funded adjuvant improves the efficacy of India’s COVID-19 vaccine says a press release published on their website.
Drug development noted successful
An adjuvant developed with funding from the National Institutes of Health has contributed to the success of the highly efficacious COVAXIN COVID-19 vaccine, which roughly 25 million people have received to date in India and elsewhere. COVAXIN was developed and is manufactured in India, which is currently suffering a devastating health crisis due to COVID-19.
“Ending a global pandemic requires a global response,” said Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of NIH. “I am pleased that a novel vaccine adjuvant developed in the United States with NIAID support is part of an efficacious COVID-19 vaccine available to people in India.”
Mild side effects
Molecules that activate TLR receptors stimulate the immune system powerfully, but the side effects of Alhydroxiquim-II are mild. This is because, after COVAXIN is injected, the adjuvant travels directly to nearby lymph nodes, which contain white blood cells that play an essential role in identifying pathogens and fighting infection.
Consequently, only a small amount of Alhydroxiquim-II is needed in each dose of vaccine, and the adjuvant does not circulate throughout the body, thereby averting more widespread inflammation and undesirable side effects.
To produce 700Mn doses
Bharat Biotech developed COVAXIN in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research ‒ National Institute of Virology.
The company conducted extensive safety studies of Alhydroxiquim-II and undertook the complex process of scaling up production of the adjuvant under Good Manufacturing Practice standards. Bharat Biotech expects to produce an estimated 700 million doses of COVAXIN by the end of 2021.
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Source: NIH
