BENGALURU (Reuters) – Shares of Cadila Healthcare Ltd jumped 7.9% on Monday after India last week approved the drugmaker’s COVID-19 vaccine, the world’s first DNA shot against the coronavirus, for emergency use in adults and children aged 12 years and above.
The vaccine, developed in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology, is the second home-grown shot to get emergency authorization in the country after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
Cadila aims to make 100 million to 120 million doses of ZyCoV-D annually and has begun stockpiling the vaccine.
The company’s Group Managing Director Sharvil Patel said on Saturday the supply of vaccine, which will be scaled up to 10 million doses per month from October, will start by mid-September, according to a media report https://bit.ly/3D68i14.
Patel added there will be more clarity on the price of the vaccine by this week, the report said.
The approval gives a boost to India’s vaccination programme, which aims to inoculate all eligible adults by December, and will provide the first shot for those under 18, as the country still struggles to contain the virus spread in some states.
The nod comes at a time when there are looming concerns over a possible third wave of COVID-19 infections during the winter months, which could hit children.
Cadila’s stock gained the most in four months on Monday and has so far risen 12.2% this year, as of last close, compared with a 6.16% rise in the Nifty Pharma index.
(Reporting by Rama Venkat and Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
