On Saturday, the pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech officially announced the sale prices for its Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin. State govern...
On Saturday, the pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech officially announced the sale prices for its Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin. State governments will have to pay Rs 600 per dose while private hospitals will have to pay Rs 1,200 per dose. These prices, fixed far above the corresponding rates announced by the Serum Institute of India for its vaccine, Covishield, has surprised observers for many reasons.
The Serum Institute could cite royalty payments to the Swedish-Britsh firm AstraZeneca from which it has licensed its vaccine as a potential reason for higher prices. But Bharat Biotech does not have to pay any royalty for Covaxin. Covaxin is, in large measure, a product of publicly funded research in India.
It is based on the SARS-CoV-2 strain, which was isolated in the National Institute of Virology in Pune. This institute functions under the Indian Council for Medical Research. The ICMR had transferred this strain to Bharat Biotech for development and manufacture.
A statement from the ICMR on May 10, 2020, had explained the collaboration in the following words:
“Work on vaccine development has been initiated between two partners. ICMR-NIV will provide continuous support to BBIL [Bharat Biotech] for vaccine development. ICMR and BBIL will seek fast-track approvals to expedite vaccine development,...
