Enzychem and Cadila collaborate to produce Covid-19 vaccine in Korea

Enzychem Lifesciences and Cadila Healthcare, a Zydus Group unit, have signed an agreement to manufacture the first-ever Covid-19 plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) vaccine, ZyCoV-D.

According to the manufacturing licence and technology transfer deal, Zydus will extend its production technology and offer technical assistance to Enzychem.

The alliance intends to produce 80 million or more doses of the vaccine next year.

Subsequently, Zydus is entitled to receive licence fees and royalty payments from Enzychem to market the vaccine manufactured in Korea.

The vaccine will be supplied to various countries, including low-medium income nations in Latin America and Asian New Southern Policy member countries.

It obtained emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for usage in individuals aged 12 years and above based on data from a clinical trial that enrolled nearly 30,000 people.

ZyCoV-D is given using a needle-free applicator of The PharmaJet to guarantee painless administration intradermally.

It will be administered in three doses on day zero, day 28 and day 56.

Due to the ease of administration, the vaccine can be used readily, specifically in resource-poor populations.

Enzychem Lifesciences chairman Ki Young Sohn said: “Today marks an important milestone for our vaccine consortium as we embark on the manufacturing of the world’s first-in-class DNA vaccine for humans.

“This technology allows vaccines to be produced at affordable costs in record time and DNA vaccines are considerably stable.

“With state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and a qualified workforce dedicated to manufacturing high-quality products, we are very eager to partner with Zydus in addressing the global demand for Covid vaccines, especially in low-medium income countries.”