The World Health Organization's (WHO) is likely to take decision on Emergency use Listing (EUL) of Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin. The decision is expected to come in the first week of August, sources said.
Bharat Biotech has submitted it's application is required for EUL for Covaxin to WHO. Bharat Biotech International Limited's Covaxin is developed by the Hyderabad-based agency in collaboration with ICMR.
Covaxin has already received regulatory approval from 11 countries, the sources said, adding there was also interest from other 11 companies in seven countries for technology transfer and its production.
A WHO prequalification, or EUL, is necessary for a vaccine company to supply vaccines to global facilities such as Covax or international procurement. So far eight vaccines have got a EUL from the WHO.
The WHO has given approvals to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for emergency use on December 31. The AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine got its approvals on February 15, and the COVID-19 vaccine Ad26.COV2.S developed by Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) was approved on March 12. Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine and China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine have also both been approved in the EUL.