Ahmedabad based Zydus Cadila Healthcare has started advance production of its under-trial DNA plasmid COVID-19 vaccine, even though it will be seeking an emergency use authorisation for the same in May or June, reports Livemint.

The company is aiming to produce as many as 240 million doses per annum of its vaccine candidate 'ZyCoV-D'. However, it should be noted that even though the company has begun producing the vaccine doses, the production right now is not "meaningfully large", according to company's managing director Shravil Patel.

Patel also shared that it aimed to produce 10 million doses a month starting June, with an in-house capacity of 120 million doses per annum. Meanwhile, the rest of the production will come from third-party producers. The company is already in talks with two other manufacturers and is also looking to partner with more manufacturers.

Patel also emphasised that, unlike some other vaccine makers who have been hit by the curbs imposed by the United States (US) on the export of raw materials, his company was sourcing the ingredients domestically.

"We did anticipate those challenges.Everything for us is done in India. Our supply chain is secure. We don’t have any issues for the next 14-15 months," Patel was quoted as saying.