The price of Covishield and Covaxin, the Covid vaccines which are expected to soon get regular market approval from India’s drug regulator, is likely to be capped at Rs 275 per dose plus an additional service charge of Rs 150, official sources said, according to a news agency.
According to them, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has been directed to start working towards capping the price to make the vaccines affordable.
As of now, Covaxin is priced at Rs 1,200 per dose while Covishield costs Rs 780 in private facilities. The prices include Rs 150 service charge. Both the vaccines are only authorised for emergency use in the country.
A Subject Expert Committee on Covid-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation on January 19 recommended granting regular market approval to Covid vaccines Covishield and Covaxin for use in the adult population subject to certain conditions.
“The NPPA has been asked to work towards capping the price of the vaccines. The price is likely to be capped at Rs 275 per dose along with an additional service charge of Rs 150,” an official source said.
Prakash Kumar Singh, the director (Government and regulatory affairs) at Serum Institute of India, had submitted an application to the Drugs Controller General of India on October 25 seeking regular market approval for its Covishield vaccine.
A couple of weeks ago, V Krishna Mohan, the whole-time director at Bharat Biotech, submitted complete information on the chemistry, manufacturing and controls, along with the pre-clinical and clinical data while seeking regular market authorisation for Covaxin.
Covaxin and Covishield, which got Emergency Use Authorisation on January 3 last year, have been the mainstay of India’s coronavirus immunisation programme launched on January 16, 2021.
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Covishield, Covaxin prices to be capped at Rs 275/dose
At least 90 per cent of the doses administered so far are of Covishield.
If the national drugs regulator grants approval to Covishield and Covaxin, then it will be the second and third anti-Covid vaccine in the world to have received full market authorisation, making it eligible for retail sale, albeit with certain conditions.
On August 23, this year, the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is now being marketed as Comirnaty, for the prevention of Covid-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older.
“…While this and other vaccines have met the FDA’s rigorous, scientific standards for emergency use authorisation, as the first FDA-approved Covid-19 vaccine, the public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product,” acting FDA commissioner, Janet Woodcock had said after granting authorisation.