Serum Institute may seek permission for commercial sale of Covishield

Serum Institute of India (SII) may apply for 'marketing authorisation' for Covishield, the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, which would allow the company to sell the vaccine commercially.

Pune-based SII might apply for marketing authorisation of the jab to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) by the end of April.

SII is manufacturing and conducting clinical trials of the vaccine developed by British Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

The vaccine has been approved for restricted emergency use in India. Currently, no company in the world can sell vaccines against COVID-19 in the private market.

Vaccine makers cannot sell their vaccine through the commercial route in any country. It can only sell to the government of any country," a source added.