Covaxin safest vaccine in world: Bharat Biotech CMD Dr Krishna Ella

New Delhi: Amid concerns that the Union government might have given approval for emergency use to Bharat Biotech's coronavirus vaccine Covaxin in haste, Chairman of the company Dr Krishna Ella said it is one of the safest vaccines in the world. "We have done more than 18 clinical trials globally. We are the largest company in the developing world with the highest number of clinical trials," he said.

While addressing the press virtually, Dr Ella, founder and chairman of the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, has hailed the decision of the Indian drug regulator DCGI for approving Covaxin for emergency restricted use and termed it as a giant leap for innovation and novel product development in India.

Dr Ella addressed the concerns being raised over Covaxin and said, "People are talking to backlash on Indian companies. That is not done for us. I don't know why Indian companies are targeted by everyone in the world." The Bharat Biotech CMD said that they are "no way" inferior to Pfizer in terms of coronavirus vaccine. He said Bharat Biotech is the only firm to have published five articles on the Covid-19 vaccine process.

On data transparency, he said, "Many people say that I am not transparent in my data. I think people should have the patience to read on the internet and how many articles we have published. More than 70 articles have been published in various international journals."