Pfizer in the final stages to ink Covid-19 vaccine deal with Centre

US pharma giant Pfizer’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Albert Bourla said that the company is in the final stages of signing an agreement with the Indian government to supply its Covid-19 jabs.

According to news agencies, Bourla said, “We are discussing with the Indian government. We are in the final stages of finalising the agreement.” Bourla was speaking at the BioPharma & Healthcare Summit, USA-India Chamber of Commerce (USAIC). “I hope, very soon, we will finalise an agreement with the government,” he added.

Sources close to the developments had indicated earlier that the price for India could be below $10 per dose, or the lowest in the world, so far. Pfizer has also said that it will only sell its vaccine to the Government of India during the pandemic and not to other entities. According to estimates, around 50 million doses could be supplied to India between July and October this year.

The company, however, has sought indemnity in the purchase agreement that will exempt it from legal claims in case there are any adverse effects from the vaccines, when administered. Its representatives are meeting the authorities in the country regularly, and recently, presented an elaborate data from the global trials.

Bourla said Pfizer will be able to make 3 billion doses of its vaccine by the end of 2021, and around 4 billion vaccines in 2022.

Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid vaccine BNT162b2, an mRNA technology-based jab, has shown 95 per cent efficacy against Covid, and around 100 per cent efficacy against severe disease. The vaccine is also approved for adolescents over 12 in the US.

Bourla said that the company has specific plans to meet demand for vaccines in low-and middle-income countries, including India.

These countries are likely to get 2 billion doses of the vaccine, of which around 1 billion could be delivered within this year.

Pfizer has recently concluded a deal with the US government for 500 million doses. The US government may give these doses to the low-and-middle income nations.