Biological-E’s Corbevax could be India's cheapest COVID-19 vaccine, know all about

New Delhi: As the health ministry has finalised arrangements with Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Biological-E to book 30 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses, reports suggest it may be the cheapest available on the market.

The vaccine is likely to be priced at Rs 400 for two doses and the final price of the vaccine is yet to be decided, according to a report by Times of India.

The SII’s COVID-19 vaccine is currently priced at Rs 300 per dose for state governments and Rs 600 a dose for private hospitals. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin costs Rs 400 and Rs 1,200 and the Russian vaccine Sputnik V is priced at Rs 995 per dose.

The vaccine has been modelled after the hepatitis B vaccine and uses traditional technology, Dr Maria Elena Bottazi, associate dean, National School of Tropical Medicine (NSTM) told Times of India.

As per a health ministry statement, an advance payment of Rs 1,500 crore will be made to Biological-E from the Centre. 

This is the second made-in-India vaccine after Bharat Biotech`s COVAXIN. Biological-E`s COVID-19 vaccine, an RBD protein sub-unit vaccine, is currently undergoing Phase-3 clinical trials.

The proposal of M/s Biological-E was examined and recommended for approval after due diligence by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC), the ministry said.

As per the union health ministry, as many as 22,10,43,693 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country so far.

Live TV