Government News

ICMR has partnered with Bharat Biotech lnternational Limited (BBIL) to fast-track clinical trials of the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine (BBV152 COVID Vaccine) and its clinical trials were approved by DCGI by end of June.

 Amidst ever-increasing cases of coronavirus, efforts are being made to speed up testing of suspects of COVID-19 carriers, especially in the interior parts of the country. In one such initiative, a mobile diagnostic unit I-Lab (Infectious disease diagnostic lab) has been launched on Thursday by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Science and Technology, Health and Family Welfare and Earth Sciences. The I-Lab is expected to help in the expansion of COVID-19 testing in remote areas.

The development and availability of medicines and vaccines for all patients in the European Union, including those with COVID-19, is the number one priority for the European medicines regulatory network. EMA, together with EU Member States and the European Commission, has published a PDF iconplan outlining principles for how the network will ensure that core public and animal health regulatory activities, such as the authorisation, maintenance and supervision of human and veterinary medicines will continue to be carried out during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan has been elected as Chair of the Executive Board of World Health Organization for the year 2020-21. This took place today during the 147th session of the Executive Board, in a meeting that was virtually held.Hehas replacedDr Hiroki Nakatani of Japan.

Indian researchers and authorities have prioritized to reduce dependence on other countries by developing and validating indigenous diagnostic assays for COVID-19 testing. A total of 11 RT-PCR-based indigenous assays were validated and recommended for the testing of COVID-19. This has been revealed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) extends validity of WHO GMP/CoPP expiring from March to August 2020 by 6 months due to COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

“The Union Minister of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, and Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said today that India’s fight against the COVID-19 is moving fast ahead strongly and steadily. He was addressing a digital conference, RE-START – ‘Reboot the Economy through Science, Technology and Research Translations’, organized to celebrate the National Technology Day. The Conference was organized by the Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

To urgently develop safe and effective Biomedical solutions against SARS CoV-2, Department of Biotechnology and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) had invited applications for COVID-19 Research Consortium. In addition, BIRAC has also created a provision to fund COVID-19 solutions that are ready for immediate deployment under a ‘Fast Track Review Process’.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV) at Pune has developed and validated the indigenous IgG ELISA test “COVID KAVACH ELISA” for antibody detection for COVID-19.