Aurobindo Pharma developing COVID-19 vaccine gets shortlisted for BIRAC funding

The company is developing Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV).

The global market size of the product is USD 6.2 billion.

The company has successfully completed the Phase-I and Phase II studies.

Phase-III clinical study is expected to be initiated by December 2020.

The final product would be launched by the end of FY22, Aurobindo said.

"The acquisition (of Profectus BioSciences) will also lead to the enhancement of our R&D capabilities and expertise in developing new vaccines from basic discovery to FDA approved products. As part of our commitment to patient needs, we have started working on developing a vaccine for COVID- 19," the report said.

Aurobindo is setting up manufacturing facilities for orals in China, injectables and other routes of administration like patches, topicals, inhalers, among others in India and in the USA.

Also, its biosimilars (Unit XVII) and vaccines facilities (Unit XVIII) are ready for commercialisation.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted select business segments like generic injectables due to a decline in in- patient volumes and out-patient footfalls in the hospitals during the last fiscal.

However, the muted growth was offset by volume improvement in other businesses.