Nearly 30 groups in India, ranging from big industry players to individual academics, are trying to develop vaccines to fight coronavirus, Principal Scientific Adviser said on May 28.

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Of these 30, 20 are working at a good pace, he said. "About 30 groups in India, big industry to individual academics are trying to develop vaccines to fight COVID-19 of which 20 are keeping a good pace," the Adviser said at a media briefing. He said vaccine development currently takes nearly 10 years, but the aim the world over is to find a vaccine for coronavirus in a year. He said designing new drugs is a "very very big challenge" and just like a vaccine it takes a very long time. "Most attempts fail and thus you have to try a lot," he said. He said the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the AICTE have also embarked on a drug discovery hackathon.

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