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Biological E has entered into an agreement with Canada-based Providence Therapeutics Holdings, to manufacture the latter’s mRNA (messenger Ribonucleic acid) vaccine PTX-COVID19-B in India. According to a release from the city-based vaccine maker, Biological E will be responsible for all clinical development and regulatory activities for the mRNA vaccine in India and other jurisdictions licensed by it. It targets one billion dose production capacity in 2022.

“Providence will provide the necessary technology transfer for Biological E to manufacture mRNA vaccines in India, with a minimum production capacity of 600 million doses in 2022 and a target capacity of one billion doses, it said.

The mRNA platform has emerged as the front runner in delivering the first vaccines for emergency use to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Biological E is very pleased to be able to work with Providence on its promising mRNA vaccine candidate, Mahima Datla, Managing Director of Biological E said.

“We hope to provide India and other countries yet another option to ramp up their efforts towards achieving herd immunity against COVID-19,” she said. The initiative is an important commitment by a Canada- based company to help India and other nations vaccinate their citizens against COVID19,” said Brad Sorenson, CEO of Providence said.

Providence will export 30 million doses from existing North American capacity to Biological E and other end buyers, it said. Earlier, Biological E had said it entered into collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, part of Johnson & Johnson, for creation and enhancement of production capabilities to manufacture the latter’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Doctors at Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Wednesday staged a protest against the brutal attack on a junior doctor at a Covid-19 care centre in Assam’s Hojai district yesterday.

Junior doctors accompanied by senior doctors and frontline health workers boycotted the Outpatient Department (OPD) services and staged protests by wearing black badges in the government-run hospitals of Guwahati, Hojai, Biswanath, Jorhat, Tezpur, Nagaon and many other places in the state

Doctors in GMCH protested carrying posters written “Stop Violence against Doctors”. “We want the government’s support in this matter and ensuring our safety,” a protesting doctor told ANI.

Also Read: 24 booked for mob assault upon a doctor

After the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation decided to shut down its 200-bed Auto Cluster hospital in Chinchwad on Tuesday, medical and non-medical staff held sit-in protests till late evening, with the staff refusing to move out of the hospital premises.

“We have closed down Auto Cluster hospital from Tuesday. This is because on Sunday, it had one patient and on Monday, it had no patients,” said Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Patil.

The PCMC decision, however, came as a shock for the 200-odd medical and non-medical staff working at the hospital. The staff said after the PCMC administration took over the charge of the hospital from Sparsh Multispeciality Hospital on May 9, the staff had been warned that if they left, criminal cases would be filed against them.

“The hospital has been suddenly shut down without any prior intimation or provision of employment as assured by them (PCMC) while acquiring the centre. We were all informed on May 9 that we were not allowed to leave the job or apply elsewhere as our services had been acquired by the corporation. We constantly requested them to hold meetings with additional commissioners, still our pleas were unheard… on Monday, we received a mail from the authorities saying we were being released from service, which was totally uncalled for, leaving us unemployed at this peak time,” said Dr Shruti Patil, one of the doctors at the hospital.