Covid-19 vaccine: Centre to receive supply of Corbevax from February 15

Supplies of Corbevax Covid-19 vaccine from Biological E are set to start from February 15, senior government sources confirmed. With around 300 million doses lined up from the Hyderabad-based vaccine maker, the Centre is not rushing to strike a deal to procure Covovax, Novavax’s vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII).

“Supplies from Biological E to begin from February 15,” a senior government official confirmed. The Centre had made an advance payment of Rs 1,500 crore last year to Biological E for 300 million doses.

While the exact pricing of the vaccine has not been disclosed, sources claimed that it would be around Rs 150 per dose for the government. Biological E did not comment on the matter.

Biological E has already produced 250 million doses of Corbevax, and aims to finish the production of 300 million doses -- its supply commitment to the Indian government -- in few weeks.

The Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL), Kasauli, has already approved 65 million doses of Corbevax for use, which can immediately reach the market through

government vaccination centers, sources said.

Meanwhile, CDL has also approved over 30 mn doses of Covovax. SII is set to start exports of Covovax from its Pune plant. So far, no supply agreement has been signed between SII and the Centre.

“Several vaccine options are present, and there are multiple approved vaccines in India. This does not mean the Centre will procure all the options available,” said a person close to the development.

An industry insider said Biological E has already created large-scale capacities to manufacture Corbevax, a vaccine that was approved by the drug regulator last December. “The company can make 1 billion doses annually of Corbevax, and this can be scaled up further as the technology is scalable. In contrast, Covovax has challenges of scaling up,” a senior industry insider said.