American pharmaceutical company Moderna‘s COVID-19 vaccine may soon be approved for emergency use in India for those aged 18 and above, PTI reported quoting sources. 

Mumbai-based firm Cipla has sought the approval of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to import Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to the country and a decision in this regard is likely to be taken by today, ANI reported. 

Moderna’s vaccine mRNA-1273 is sold under the brand name ‘Spikevax’ in the United States. Moderna developed the vaccine in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in the US.

According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), it uses nucleoside-modified mRNA (modRNA) and encodes a SARS-CoV-2 spike protein encapusulated in lipid nanoparticles. 

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Moderna said that the US government will provide India with a certain number of doses as part of its COVAX inititaitve. And with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) also in favour, the DCGI may soon grant the Moderna vaccine emergency use access.  

Cipla had sought permission to import the Moderna vaccines on Monday. The firm noted that the DCGI had earlier said any vaccine authorised for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use can be granted the same access in India without the need to conduct trials. 

However, before the vaccine can be rolled out to the public for a large-scale vaccination drive, safety data on the first 100 beneficiaries will need to be submitted.