India approves two COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use

The Subject Expert Committee of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) made recommendations for Restricted Emergency Approval of COVID-19 virus vaccine of M/s Serum Institute of India and M/s Bharat Biotech. 

• ​M/s Bharat Biotech, Hyderabad has developed Covaxin in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR),New Delhi and National Institute of Virology(NIV), Pune from where they received the virus seed strains. This vaccine is developed on Vero cell platform, which has well established track record of safety and efficacy in the country & globally.
• M/s Serum Institute of India, Pune developed Covishield  with technology transfer from AstraZeneca/Oxford University. 

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About Subject Expert Committee of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO)
The Subject Expert Committee consists of domain knowledge experts from the fields of pulmonology, immunology, microbiology, pharmacology, paediatrics, internal medicine, etc.

About Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO)
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) plays an important role in safeguarding and enhancing public health by ensuring the quality, safety, and efficacy of drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices. It is the Central Drug Authority for fulfilling functions allocated by the Central Government under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Sources :  PIB