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Business News/ Companies / News/  Brazil suspends contract to buy 20 mn doses of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin over alleged irregularities
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Brazil suspends contract to buy 20 mn doses of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin over alleged irregularities

The suspension of the contract was done following a recommendation by the country’s Comptroller General of the Union, while Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro’s government said that there were no irregularities

Bharat Biotech’s pricing strategy in India has also become controversial as its CMD Krishna Ella in August last year said that the jab would cost less than a bottle of water, but is now pricing its doses at as much as Rs1,200 per dose for private hospitals. (REUTERS)Premium
Bharat Biotech’s pricing strategy in India has also become controversial as its CMD Krishna Ella in August last year said that the jab would cost less than a bottle of water, but is now pricing its doses at as much as Rs1,200 per dose for private hospitals. (REUTERS)

Brazil has suspended its contract worth around $320 million for 20 million doses of Bharat Biotech International’s Covaxin following allegations over the covid-19 vaccine’s procurement and pricing of $15 per dose.

The suspension of the contract, with effect from Tuesday, was done following a recommendation by the country’s Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), while Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro’s government said that there were no irregularities.

“According to CGU's preliminary analysis, there are no irregularities in the contract, but, due to compliance, the @minsaude (Brazil’s health ministry) opted to suspend the contract for further analysis," Brazil health minister Marcelo Queiroga said on Twitter early Wednesday.

The contract, signed between Bharat Biotech and Brazil’s Precisa Medicamentos, has become the centre of a political storm in Brazil following an investigation by the country’s parliamentary commission of inquiry into handling of the pandemic by the Bolsonaro administration.

Among the major issues that were looked at, the procurement of the vaccine by the country has attracted significant scrutiny, especially as the price of $15 per dose is the highest paid by the country for any of the vaccines, which also include the vaccines developed by Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

According to a report by CNN from Brazil, members of the parliamentary panel said that the agreed price in the contract was much about 1000% higher than initially quoted. Emails between Bharat Biotech and the ministry submitted to CPI showed an initial quoted price of $1.34 per dose, which later rose to $15 per dose in the negotiated contract, according to a CPI statement, the report said.

Bharat Biotech International on Wednesday came out with a statement defending its process of Covaxin supply to Brazil, saying that it committed no wrongdoing in its supply contracts for the covid-19 vaccine, including in the pricing of the vaccine which it has set at $15-20 for export markets.

“The pricing of Covaxin has been clearly established between $15-20 per dose for supplies to governments outside India. The pricing for Brazil has also been indicated at $ 15 per dose. Bharat Biotech has received advance payments from several other countries at the above price points, with supplies in process, pending approvals," the company said in a statement.

The vaccine had received an authorisation from Brazil’s drug regulator, Anvisa, on 4 June, and a phase 3 trial of 5,000 participants is being conducted by the Albert Einstein Institute in Sau Paulo.

Bharat Biotech also said that the advance payment before an order was secured has been done in several countries, including the US and India, with procurement of the vaccine being done only after the emergency use authorisation is granted by the country’s regulator, in Brazil’s case, Anvisa.

India had signed an advance order worth 1,500 crore to secure 200 million doses of Biological E’s covid-19 vaccine, which is about to enter phase 3 trial. However, when Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin was in development last year, the Indian government had not signed any advance orders, an issue which has led to vaccine shortages over the last two months.

Bharat Biotech’s pricing strategy in India has also become controversial as company’s chairman and managing director Krishna Ella in August last year said that the jab would cost less than a bottle of water, but is now pricing its doses at as much as 1,200 per dose for private hospitals. For the Indian government, the price is 150 (about $2) per dose.

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Published: 30 Jun 2021, 07:50 PM IST
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