Drug controller hints vaccine approval will make it a 'happy new year'

V G Somani's statement comes even as subject expert committee is set to meet on Jan 1 to consider three emergency-use authorisation applications

India could start the new year with an approved Covid vaccine, the country's drug regulator indicated on Thursday even as the subject expert committee would meet on January 1 to consider three emergency-use authorisation applications including Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Pfizer-BioNtech. 

“Probably we will have a happy new year with something in hand, that’s what I can hint at,” said V G Somani, Drug Controller General of India speaking at a webinar on the science of vaccine development. 

Somani assured that processes were fast tracked by allowing parallel and seamless phase one and two trials and there