On May 20, 2020, Bharat Biotech and Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia announced an exclusive deal to develop a new vaccine candidate for COVID-19 invented at Jefferson. The novel vaccine was developed using an existing deactivated rabies vaccine as a vehicle for coronavirus proteins. This was in part be-cause this vehicle or carrier vaccine is known to produce a strong immune response, and is ap-proved for the whole population including children and pregnant women.

Infectious Diseases expert Professor Matthias Schnell’s lab developed the vaccine in January this year, and has recently completed preliminary tests in animal models. The vaccine showed a strong antibody response in mice receiving the vaccine. The researchers are currently testing whether vaccinated animals are protected from SARS-CoV-2 infection with results expected in the next month.

Under the license agreement, Bharat Biotech gains exclusive rights to develop, market and deliver Jefferson’s vaccine across the world excluding countries such as USA, Europe, Japan etc., where Jefferson continues to seek partners. With support from the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, Bharat Biotech aims to get into human trials as soon as December 2020.