NEW DELHI: India’s drugs regulator has given its approval to Reliance Life Sciences Pvt Ltd to conduct phase I clinical trial for its recombinant protein-based Covid-19 vaccine candidate, a local media report said on Friday.

“On Thursday the drug regulator approved Reliance Life Sciences’ application to conduct clinical trials of its recombinant protein-based Covid-19 vaccine candidate. The approval was given after the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) reviewed its application during a meeting,” said a New Delhi-based news channel.

The company had sought the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)’s approval to conduct phase I trial of its proposed two-dose vaccine.

“Through Phase I, Reliance wants to obtain information on safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and mechanism of action of drugs,” the TV channel reported.

Earlier this week, DCGI granted approval for phase II and III clinical trials of the country’s first mRNA Covid-19 vaccine HGCO19 that is being developed by Genova Biopharmaceuticals.  (Xinhua)