India’s first mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine candidate HGCO19 by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd has been granted approval for phase 2/3 clinical trails, the department of biotechnology (DBT) said on Tuesday. The Pune-based biotechnology company had submitted the interim clinical data of the vaccine’s phase 1 study to the central drugs standard control organisation, it said.

The vaccine subject expert committee reviewed the interim phase 1 data and found that the HGCO19 vaccine was safe, tolerable, and immunogenic in the participants of the study. “Gennova submitted the proposed phase 2 and phase 3 study entitled ‘A prospective, multicentre, randomised, active-controlled, observer-blind, phase 2 study seamlessly followed by a phase 3 study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of the candidate HGCO19 (Covid-19 vaccine) in healthy subjects’ which was approved by the office of the DCG(I), CDSCO,” the DBT said.