Dr. Krishna Ella graduated with a Ph.D., from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1987-1992) and returned to India in 1996 to start Bharat Biotech.
Bharat Biotech, located in India, primarily focuses on neglected diseases since many neglected diseases turn out to be pandemic diseases, continue to work on emerging problems of pandemic diseases. With over 115 patents and having developed more than 16 vaccines, the company has a strong record of producing the highest number of viral vaccines in the developing world (11 vaccines), and has supplied more than 9 Billion doses of vaccines in the developing world.
Under Dr. Ella’s leadership, Bharat Biotech successfully developed Rotavac®, the developing world’s first vaccine against Rotavirus induced diarrhoeal infections and death. Under his leadership, the company also developed and launched Typbar TCV®, the world’s 1st clinically proven and WHO pre-qualified Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) and becoming the first company to have proven the efficacy of a Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine through human challenge studies conducted at Oxford University.
Bharat Biotech has so far received over USD 300 million in Grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Welcome Trust and many Governments for the various clinical programmes. It is also the only company from the developing world to have carried out clinical trials in more than 6,00,000 volunteers in over 8 countries.
Bharat Biotech was the world’s first company to file global patents for Chikungunya and Zika Virus vaccines. Most recently, the company has been working on the development of three COVID-19 vaccine candidates, two of which being international collaborations. The third is an indigenous vaccine development project in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). COVAXIN™ is India’s 1st indigenous vaccine developed against COVID-19. The vaccine has completed challenge studies in monkeys and hamsters and Phase I & II human clinical trials, and is currently under Phase III efficacy trails in India. The other two vaccines have completed Animal challenge studies and will enter clinical trials by the year end.
