New Delhi: The government aims to boost domestic vaccine production by booking 30 crore doses of Hyderabad-based Biological-E’s Covid jabs.
The Health Ministry will make an advance payment of Rs 1,500 crore to the company for this purpose.
The new vaccine, which is still in clinical trials, will be the second made-in-India vaccine to be used in the country after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, NDTV reported.
According to a government statement, the doses will be manufactured and stockpiled by Biological-E from August to December and are likely to be available “in the next few months”.
The new vaccine arrangement is “part of the wider endeavour of the government to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers” by providing them support in research and development and costs, the statement added.
Biological-E’s vaccine is currently in Phase-3 clinical trials after showing promising results in Phase 1 and 2.
Current Vaccine Status
Besides Covaxin and Serum Institute of India’s Covishield, Russia’s Sputnik V will soon be used to vaccinate people as the government races towards a target of daily one crore vaccinations by August.
It is also in talks with foreign makers like Pfizer and Moderna, who have insisted on an indemnity clause.
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