The Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) has authorised the import and emergency use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 produced by Serum Institute of India.
The drug regulator's Assistant Director Md Ayub Hossain confirmed the development on Monday, reports bdnews24.com.
The DGDA has issued an NOC for the import of the vaccine, clearing the way for Beximco Pharmaceuticals to import the drug to the country, he said.
"The vaccine has been approved for emergency use through the issuance of a no-objection certificate and so there isn't a need to conduct a clinical trial," Ayub added.
"The people of our country need this vaccine now. The vaccine has already been approved in the United Kingdom and India, where there have been clinical trials along with various studies. Besides, the decision to authorise the vaccine was taken after taking into account the analysis of the vaccine by our expert committee.”
Beximco Pharmaceuticals on December 31 submitted the documents required for permission to import the vaccine from India. It sought the formal approval of the authorities on Monday.
Speaking at a media briefing on Monday, Nazmul Hasan, the managing director of Beximco Pharmaceuticals, said the first consignment of the vaccine would arrive in Bangladesh within a month of receiving the government's approval, as per its agreement with Serum Institute.