Prachi Desai Mirrored Beauty/

Indian actress Prachi Desai photographed in various styles for the women magazine. She is looking so cool and cute in this photo shoot.

Close on the heels of the Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila beginning clinical trials of the H1N1 vaccine on humans, city-based Serum Institute of India Ltd on Thursday set the ball rolling for clinical trials of a swine flu vaccine on humans. While the vaccine will be administered at its Ahmedabad centre only next week, the process for clinical trials on 50 volunteers started on Thursday, said institute senior director Dr Rajeev Dhere.

Serum Institute is one of the companies from across the world that were contacted by the World Health Organisation for producing a preventive vaccine against the pandemic H1N1 swine flu. The WHO had supplied H1N1 seed virus to the institute, with which it developed small quantities of the H1N1 flu vaccine needed for animal trials.

The intra-nasal immunisation with the vaccine had proved to be safe on animal models and the acute and sub acute toxicity information was submitted to the Drug Controller of India (DCGI) for permission to use for clinical trials on humans.

According to Dr Prasad Kulkarni, additional director, clinical trials, Serum Institute of India, the permission has been granted and phase 1 of the trial will be conducted in Ahmedabad. "The study group of volunteers is only 50 as we want to check the safety of the vaccine. The first phase is likely to be completed by January-end, after which a pivotal study will be taken up in adults. The intra-nasal vaccine will be administered to both children and adults."

Institute officials said the application had an advantage in that the protection was simulated directly at the virus' portal of entry.

Dr V M Katoch, Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said Zydus Cadilla had already started the clinical trial on humans and approvals had been given to other companies as well. Apart from Serum Institute, Bharat Biotech and Panacea Biotech were also given the seed virus for developing the vaccine.