J&J seeks emergency use nod for COVID-19 vaccine in India

Johnson & Johnson has applied for emergency use approval of its coronavirus vaccine in India, the US pharmaceutical giant said on Friday, moving a step closer to supplying the first single-dose COVID-19 shot to the country.

The shot will be brought to India through a supply agreement with homegrown vaccine maker Biological E Ltd, J&J said in an emailed statement.

The company's application comes at a time when legal wrangles have held up US vaccine donations to India, which has not met requests for granting foreign manufacturers indemnity from lawsuits.

J&J said it was in talks with the Indian government to accelerate the availability of its vaccine, without giving further details.

Indian health authorities have so far approved the use of vaccines developed by AstraZeneca, Bharat Biotech, Russia's Gamaleya Institute and Moderna.

The government and Moderna are still trying to sort out issues over imports of the vaccine and indemnity, a top executive at Indian drugmaker and Moderna's local distribution partner Cipla told Reuters in an interview on Friday.

Only about 495.3 million people from a population of more than 1.3 billion had received at least one dose of the vaccine as of Friday, according to the Indian health ministry data.

Johnson & Johnson is yet to request full approval for its shot with the US Food and Drug Administration.