Bharat Biotech said that it has so far invested over Rs 500 crores at risk from its own resources for product development, clinical trials and setting up of manufacturing facilities for Covaxin.
Coronavirus India Live Updates: Bharat Biotech Tuesday said that the supply price of its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin to the central government at Rs 150 per dose is not sustainable in the long run. “Hence a higher price in private markets is required to offset part of the costs,” it said in a statement.
Bharat Biotech said that it has so far invested over Rs 500 crores at risk from its own resources for product development, clinical trials and setting up of manufacturing facilities for Covaxin, it added.
India on Tuesday reported 60,471 new Covid-19 cases, the lowest in 75 days, and 2,726 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to data from the Union Health Ministry. The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stand at 2,95,70,881 while the death toll has reached 3,77,031. There are 9,13,378 active cases at present while 2,82,80,472 people have recovered so far. As many as 25,90,44,072 people have been vaccinated, the health ministry said.
Parents buying textbooks and other study material for their kids at a stationery shop in Appa Balvant Chowk, Pune on June 11, 2021. (Express Photo by Pavan Khengre)
With the focus moving to delivering vaccines in difficult to reach areas, the Centre and state governments are taking the drone route to get to such terrains. On one hand, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has sought bids from drone operators to supply medicines and vaccines; on the other, the Telangana government has launched a project to check delivery feasibility of medical supplies. Companies with logistics experience including Flipkart and Dunzo have announced their consortia under Telangana’s drone delivery scheme to develop and execute drone deliveries there.
As per ICMR’s June 11 tender document, floated by HLL Infra Tech Services on its behalf, the aim is to develop a “feasible” model for vaccine delivery to ensure last-mile coverage of “difficult” terrains in “selected” locations. It was floated using the preliminary results of a “successfully” conducted feasibility study with IIT-Kanpur to deliver vaccines using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
