Indian pharmaceutical major Zydus Cadila is likely to apply to the central drugs regulator seeking emergency use authorisation for its COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D next week, official sources said on Friday.

If approved, it will be the world’s first DNA vaccine against coronavirus and the fourth to become available in the country.

“The analysis of the phase-three trial data is almost ready and the company has informed the government that it could apply for emergency use licensure for its COVID-19 vaccine next week,” an official source told PTI.

Also, the jab is being tested on children belonging to the age group of 12 to 18 years, apart from adults.

“So, when the Ahmedabad-based Zydus-Cadila comes for licensure, hopefully in the next week, maybe we have enough data to take a view on whether the vaccine can be given in children also,” the source said.

DNA-Plasmid based ZyCoV-D will be a three-dose vaccine and is to be administered intradermally. It can be stored at two to four degrees Celsius and does not require cold chains, making transportation to the remotest parts of the country easy.

The vaccine candidate has been supported by the National Biopharma Mission (NBM) under the aegis of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a PSU under the Department of Biotechnology.