India's first mRNA vaccine by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., GEMCOVAC-19, received approval for emergency use from the Drugs Control General of India (DCGI). This is the country's first and the world's only third mRNA vaccine, after Pfizer and Moderna to be approved for use against COVID-19. Notably, the Gennova drug is a two-dose vaccine, the will be administered 28 days apart to adults over 18 years of age, for now.

mRNA vaccines are highly efficacious, non-infectious and non-integrating in nature, making them safe for emergency use. As per the reports, the GEMCOVAC-19 has reached the end of its Phase 3 trials, having around 43 lakh doses cleared by the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) in Himachal Pradesh. Clearance of about 30 lakh doses is still pending.

Although more than two-thirds of the country, that figures up to 91 crore citizens, are fully vaccinated, officials at Gennova said that the remaining one-third of the country's population still needs to have enough doses to get vaccinated.

Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. aims to produce around 40-50 lakhs doses of the vaccine and provide easy access to low-and-middle-income group countries around the world for maximum pandemic immunity.