Cipla gets DCGI nod to import Moderna vaccine; no commercial deal yet

1st mRNA vax part of US-India pact; no commercial deal yet

India on Tuesday approved a fourth Covid-19 vaccine--Moderna’s mRNA-1273. With this, the government has cleared the path for importing Covid vaccines approved by international regulators, without bridging clinical studies. The vaccine will be made available through a tie-up with Mumbai-headquartered Cipla.

Cipla is supporting Moderna with the regulatory approval for import the vaccines to be donated to India, a company spokesperson said. ‘’At this stage, there is no definitive agreement on commercial supplies,’’ the spokesperson added.   

The vaccine developed by Cambridge (Massachusetts)-based Moderna Inc has demonstrated 94.1 per cent efficacy. This will be the first mRNA vaccine to get an emergency