New Delhi [India]: The US-based pharmaceutical company Johnson and Johnson is still in talks with the Centre over its COVID-19 vaccine, said sources on Monday. The development came after reports surfaced that the company has pulled its proposal seeking accelerated approval for local trials in India. In April, Johnson and Johnson had said that it was seeking approval to conduct a bridging clinical study of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine candidate Janssen in India. As per the sources, Johnson and Johnson are not going to participate in the trials for the single-dose vaccine in India. They are also having discussions over indemnity with the government. In June, a spokesperson of the company told ANI that as per the recent announcement by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), there is no longer a requirement to conduct bridging clinical studies of COVID-19 vaccines in India. “We are in ongoing discussions with the Government of India and are exploring how best to accelerate our ability to deliver the Johnson and Johnson single dose COVID-19 vaccine to the people of India,” the spokesperson said. After Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson is the second company to withdraw applications for conducting vaccine trials in India.
