The coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford will be sold at USD 3-4 per shot (Rs 219-292) to the government and will be priced at double that rate in the private market once such sales open up, said the CEO of its Indian manufacturer on Monday. Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, has a licence to produce the shot in India and has already manufactured close to 50 million doses.
SII CEO Adar Poonawalla told PTI that the company will start selling the vaccine (Covishield) to the Indian government and Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) countries in the first stage, followed by the private market.
Indian drug regulator on Sunday approved Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for restricted emergency use in the country.
"We want the vaccine to be affordable and accessible to all. The government of India will receive it at a far more affordable price of USD 3-4, since they will be buying in a larger volume," he said.
Poonawalla, who had taken a huge gamble once the pandemic began to unfold by overhauling Serum's assembly line and "sacrificing" products that were to be destined for Europe and America in anticipation of a Covid-19 vaccine, said the priority supplies will go to India and the GAVI nations.
Only after meeting their requirements, "the private market will open up where the pricing would be USD 6-8 per done," he said.
SII is likely to have 100 million doses in a month and will possibly double it by April. The government has indicated that it may need 300 million doses before July 2021, with frontline health workers and the elderly being given priority.
Poonawalla said SII is in touch with the government for the vaccine's procurement. "Initially, we will supply 50 million doses and we will get more confirmations over the course of the next few days," he added.
After the regulator's nod, SII expects formalities to be completed in the next 7 to 10 days for the rollout to begin.
When asked if the SII has been barred by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) not to export the vaccine till vulnerable populations in India are protected, Poonawalla said, "We will start exporting the vaccine post the government's approval and talks are going on.”
"Our priority list will see us cater to the Indian market first, then the COVAX countries. Optimistically, by March-April we should have permissions in place," he added.
When asked if the company was negotiating bilateral agreements with other countries too for the vaccine, Poonawalla said, "We have bilateral partnerships with nations like Bangladesh, Myanmar and Morocco.”
On the efficacy of Covishield, he noted that the company has proven in its trials that it has a 100 per cent efficacy on hospitalisation, implying that there were zero hospitalisations found in the people who took the vaccine globally. "The efficacy results of the vaccine are quite high if it is administered in 2-doses within a gap of 2 – 3months," Poonawalla said.
