Cost of Covaxin may be a little higher: Bharat Biotech MD
Coronavirus Vaccine in India: After the government of India approved the Covaxin (COVID-19 vaccine), developed by Bharat Biotech, there were debates over its efficacy data.
Bharat Biotech MD Krishna Ella said that "Approval of Covaxin for emergency use is a giant leap for innovation and novel product development in India."
"It is a proud moment for the nation and a great milestone in India’s scientific capability, a kickstart to the innovation ecosystem in India. While this vaccine addresses an unmet medical need during this pandemic, our goal is to provide global access to populations that need it the most," he added.
Also Read | Covaxin demonstrates benefits of Atmanirbhar Bharat to others: Venkaiah Naidu
COVAXIN has generated excellent safety data with robust immune responses to multiple viral proteins that persist, Ella said. "Now that vaccine was being politicized, I want to state very clearly that none of my family members are associated with any political party," he said.
He further said that "We are not just conducting clinical trials in India. We have done clinical trials in more than 12 countries including the UK. We are doing clinical trials in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh & other countries. We are not just an Indian company, we are truly a global company."
"Many people say that I am not transparent in my data. I think people should have the patience to read on the internet and how many articles we have published. More than 70 articles have been published in various international journals," he added.
Also Read | Coronavirus Vaccine in India: SII announces COVID vaccine cost for Govt. and Public
"Many people just gossiping, it's just a backlash against Indian companies. That is not right for us. We don't deserve that. Merck's Ebola vaccine never completed a human clinical trial at all but WHO gave emergency authorization for Liberia and Guinea," he said.
"Even US govt says emergency authorization can be given if a company has good immunization data while Merck's Eloba vaccine got authorization for emergency use even before completion of the phase-3 trial. Johnson and Johnson did trials on 87 people and got an emergency licence," the company said.
"Currently, we have 20 million doses. We are aiming to achieve 700 million doses capacity in four facilities -- three in Hyderabad and one in Bengaluru. We are encountering so many problems including related to logistics," Krishna Ella announced.
In the beginning, the cost of the COVID-19 vaccine may be a little higher. As the scale of production increases, the price will be controlled by the market," he announced.
-PTC News
