Indian pharmaceutical company Zydus started human studies for its potential COVID-19 vaccine. (AP Photo)

BENGALURU: Indian pharmaceutical company Zydus said on Wednesday it has started human studies for its potential COVID-19 vaccine, as coronavirus infections continue to surge in the world’s third worst-hit nation.

ZyCoV-D, its plasmid DNA vaccine, was found to be safe, immunogenic and well-tolerated in the pre-clinical toxicity studies, Zydus said.

In the human trials, Zydus will enrol over 1,000 subjects across multiple clinical study sites in India.