Biotechnology company Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin, will cost Rs 600 per dose for state governments and Rs 1,200 for priva...
Biotechnology company Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin, will cost Rs 600 per dose for state governments and Rs 1,200 for private companies. The vaccine will be priced between $15 and $20 (approximately Rs 1,120 and 1,500) for export, , the company announced on Saturday.
“Bharat Biotech is honoured to develop, manufacture and supply Covaxin for India’s vaccine rollout at Rs 150 per dose, which is distributed for free by the Government of India,” Bharat Biotech said in a statement. “We would like to state that more than 50% of our capacities have been reserved for central government supplies.”
Justifying the costs, the firm said that Covaxin is an “inactivated and highly-purified vaccine” that makes manufacturing expensive due to very low process yield. “All costs towards product development, manufacturing facilities and clinical trials were deployed primarily using internal funding and resources of Bharat Biotech,” it said.
All Indians above the age of 18 will be eligible for receiving the coronavirus vaccine in the third phase of inoculation, starting on May 1.
Bharat Biotech - COVAXIN® Announcement pic.twitter.com/cKvmFPfKlr
— BharatBiotech (@BharatBiotech) April 24, 2021
The cost of the vaccine is higher for private companies than that announced by Serum Insititute of India, which is manufacturing Covishield, the other vaccine currently being used in India’s coronavirus vaccination...
