Vaccine maker Biological E is gearing up to churn out 75-80 million doses per month of its recombinant protein vaccine candidate from August this year. The company also says it will be one of the most affordable vaccines in the country. Biological E’s MD Mahima Datla indicated that it will be among the most affordable Covid vaccines. She added that the company certainly won’t take advantage of the situation. “Covid did not make us enter into this business and we pride ourselves on having made vaccines accessible in pre-pandemic times to countries that needed it the most.”
Dr Maria Elena Bottazi, associate dean, National School of Tropical Medicine (NSTM) at Texas-based Baylor College of Medicine, which is collaborating with Biological E for the vaccine, has been quoted as saying that the subunit vaccine, which is modelled after the hepatitis B vaccine, uses traditional technology and is cheap to produce at only about $1.5 (Rs 110 approx) per dose.
Datla’s assurance on affordable pricing comes at a time when vaccine pricing has become a political issue. After being criticised, the central government had to ask both Serum Institute (Covishield) and Bharat Biotech (Covaxin) to cut their prices for state governments. Currently, Biological E is preparing for phase III trials of the two-dose vaccine. Apart from the two-dose recombinant protein vaccine Bio E also has a tie-up with Johnson & Johnson for making 600 million doses of the latter’s single-shot vaccine.
