Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson on Thursday applied to the Indian government for emergency-use authorisation of its single-dose coronavirus vaccine, PTI reported.

Johnson & Johnson will collaborate with Hyderabad-based Biological E Limited to launch the vaccine in India and other countries across the world.

“Biological E will be an important part of our global supply chain network, helping to supply our Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine through the extensive collaborations and partnerships we have with governments, health authorities and organisations such as Gavi and the COVAX Facility,” the company said, according to PTI.

In phase three clinical trials, the single-shot vaccine showed 85% efficacy in preventing severe disease, Johnson & Johnson said. The company added that its shot also offered protection against hospitalisation and death, starting 28 days after inoculation.

Johnson & Johnson said it looked forward to concluding its talks with India to expedite the availability of its vaccine and help end the Covid pandemic.

India will also manufacture the jab as part of the vaccine initiative of the Quad group of countries. The group comprises of India, United States, Australia and Japan.

The vaccine project will be financed by Japan and the US. Japan will also ship the supplies to Southeast Asia and Pacific countries.

The single-dose vaccine has already been approved for use in several countries, including the United States, European Union members, Thailand and South Africa.

Apart from the dosage regimen, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine also differs from other shots in the way it creates resistance against the virus. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use new messenger RNA [Ribonucleic acid] technology to create an immune response, while this vaccine involves a more conventional approach, using a common cold virus to introduce coronavirus proteins into cells to trigger an immune response.

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