Zydus Cadila to launch the world’s first Plasmid DNA vaccine for COVID-19

Zydus Cadila has applied for emergency use authorisation (EUA) to the office of the Drug Controller General of India for ZyCoV-D, its plasmid DNA vaccine against Covid-19.

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ZyCoV-D is a plasmid DNA vaccine which, when injected, produces the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and elicits an immune response mediated by the cellular and humoral arms of the human immune system, which play a vital role in protection from the disease as well as viral clearance.

ZyCoV-D has also been tested on adolescents between 12 and 18 years in India. Around 1,000 subjects in this age group were enrolled and the vaccine was found to be safe and very well tolerated. The tolerability profile was similar to that seen in the adult population.