New Delhi: The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Monday granted permission to Serum Institute of India (SII) to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covishield’.
As per reports, the DCGI has also asked Bharat Biotech to submit updated safety, efficacy and immunogenicity data from the ongoing Phase I, II and Ill clinical trials till the completion of trials.
According to reports, the manufacturer of the Covishield vaccine, plans to charge a special price of Rs 200 per dose for the first 100 million shots that it supplies to the government. However, reportedly, the company plans to price the vaccine at Rs 1,000 per dose in the open market, once it is allowed to do so by the government. Serum Institute is in the process of signing a larger contract with COVAX for 300 million-400 million doses of the vaccine.
On Sunday, the DCGI approved two COVID-19 vaccines for restricted emergency use in India. The two vaccines include Oxford’s Covishield, which is manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII), and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech.
The government plans to vaccinate nearly 30 crore people in the first phase of drive in the next six to eight months.
