Drug Discovery and Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Voices
    • Views
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

India’s Gennova developing mRNA COVID-19 vaccine

By Brian Buntz | September 30, 2021

GennovaIndia is vying to create domestic mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, with Gennova Bio (Maharashtra) emerging as a frontrunner. The company’s investigational HGCO19 vaccine will be the focus of a Phase 2/3 study.

The vaccine, developed in collaboration with privately-held Seattle-based HDT Bio, has received funding from India’s Department of Biotechnology and Ministry of Science and Technology.

Lyophilized (freeze-dried) HGCO19 has less stringent storage requirements than the vaccines from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA), making it a better fit for developing nations.

Gennova’s experimental vaccine is also unique in that it uses self-amplifying mRNA in place of the non-replicating mRNA found in vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

Gennova aims to win emergency use authorization for the vaccine candidate in India by the end of the year.

India has also approved a DNA-based vaccine from Zydus Cadila (NSE:CADILAHC) known as ZyCoV-D.

mRNA quickly came to dominate the vaccine landscape in many parts of the world.

But a handful of companies, namely Pfizer/BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) and Moderna, control the mRNA vaccine landscape.

CureVac aimed to enter the fray with its own mRNA vaccine, but its hopes were dashed when a Phase 3 study found its first COVID-19 vaccine had an efficacy of less than 50%.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has voiced his support for establishing India as a provider of mRNA vaccines.

India is home to the Serum Institute of India, which is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. The country is also home to one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical industries.


Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tagged With: BioNTech, coronavirus, covid-19, COVID-19 vaccine, COVID-19 vaccine trial, COVID-19 vaccines, Gennova Bio, Moderna, MRNA, Pfizer
 

About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.

Related Articles Read More >

Why Regeneron’s Lynozyfic FDA approval validates its extreme R&D thesis
Parallel Bio’s $21M in Series A will drive aim to trim $2B and 9 years from drug development timelines
Glass vial, pipette and woman scientist in laboratory for medical study, research or experiment. Test tube, dropper and professional female person with chemical liquid for pharmaceutical innovation
From 1.5% to 5.9%: Deloitte digs into what’s fueling Big Pharma’s R&D IRR climb
Recce targets A$15.8M to advance anti-infectives into Phase 3 trials
“ddd
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest news and trends happening now in the drug discovery and development industry.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
Drug Discovery and Development
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • Medtech100 Index
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Medical Design & Outsourcing
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • R&D World
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Drug Discovery & Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Voices
    • Views
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE