Centre enters into Rs 30-crore Covid vax deal with Biological-E

New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry has finalised arrangements with Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Biological-E to reserve 30 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses for which it will be making an advance payment of Rs 1,500 crore.

These vaccine doses will be manufactured and stockpiled by Biological-E from August to December this year, a ministry statement said on Thursday. The Covid-19 vaccine of Biological-E is currently undergoing phase-3 clinical trial after showing promising results in phase 1 and 2 trials.

The vaccine being developed by Biological-E is a RBD protein sub-unit vaccine and is likely to be available in the next few months.

The proposal of Biological-E was examined and recommended for approval after due diligence by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC), the statement said. The arrangement with Biological-E is part of the wider endeavour of the Centre to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers by providing them support in research and development and also financial support, it said.

The Biological-E Covid vaccine candidate has been supported by the Centre from preclinical stage to phase-3 studies.

The Department of Biotechnology has not only provided financial assistance in terms of grant-in-aid of over Rs 100 crore but has also partnered with Biological-E to conduct all animal challenge and assay studies through its Research Institute Translational Health Science Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad.