"On Zika, we are probably the first vaccine company in the world to file a vaccine candidate patent about nine months ago," Bharat Biotech Chairman and Managing Director Krishna Ella said, as quoted by the Indian NDTV television channel.
The company has the capacity to produce some one million vaccines within four months, according to Ella.
To date, there has been no known vaccine against the Zika virus, which is thought to pose the greatest risk to fetuses as it is suspected of causing severe brain damage in newborns known, as microcephaly.
The company, located in Hyderabad, has developed two vaccines against the virus as part of the Make in India program. Trials on animals and humans are yet to be conducted, Ella said, adding that the company has already turned to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for help.
The ICMR is set to examine the vaccine and determine the feasibility of further research, the council's Director General Soumya Swaminathan said, according to the report.
The Zika outbreak started in Brazil in spring 2015. It has since spread across Latin America, allegedly causing several deaths. The first case of the Zika virus in Europe was confirmed in Denmark in January, followed by Sweden and Germany.
