Centre provides grants to Bharat Biotech & 3 PSU plants to enhance COVAXIN production

In a bid to boost India's vaccination process, Centre on Friday has provided a grant of Rs 65 crores to COVAXIN manufacturer - Bharat Biotech to enhance their production capacity at their new Bengaluru plant. Moreover, the current facility is being increased 6-7 fold by July - touching 6-7 crore vaccine doses/month. Three other govt plants are also being provided grants to ramp up their production of the indigenous vaccine.

Centre provides vaccine grants to 3 plants & BBL

Apart from Bharat Biotech, three public sector companies - Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd , Mumbai, Indian Immunologicals Limited, Hyderabad and Bharat Immunologicals & Biologicals Limited, Bulandshahr too have been given grants to enhance their production capacity. While Haffkine will produce 20 million doses per month within six months, the other two will produce 10-15 million doses per month by Aug-Sep 2021. Most states have exhausted their stock of  COVAXIN, while the Centre assures that more doses are in pipeline.

Haffkine to produce COVAXIN within a year

Earlier in the day, Centre allowed Haffkine Institute to manufacture Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 Covaxin vaccine upon the request of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to PM Narendra Modi amid a massive demand for vaccine doses. In January, Haffkine had applied to the ICMR for permission to move technology. It had requested permission again in March, saying that if it is denied permission to produce the vaccine, it will be able to 'fill and finish' operations of the Covid vaccine. They had said that they will only fill vaccines in bottles and prepare them for dispatch.

Talking to Republic TV, Haffkine Institute MD Dr. Sandeep Rathore said, "Haffkine Biopharma co-operation has very long experience of manufacturing of vaccines. We do manufacture polio vaccines, various anti-sera, anti-toxins. In the month of January, we had submitted a proposal under COVID Suraksha Yojana to the government of India especially to the department of biotechnology for the manufacturing of Covaxin with the help of Bharat N Biotech and ICMR."

"The project period is for one year. It involves the erection of BSL (Bio Safety Level) 3 facility construction as well as there is validation and other regulatory aspects. After completing that we will be able to produce the vaccine," added Dr. Sandeep Rathore. Currently, India's approved vaccines - Covishield is produced by Serum Institute of India, Covaxin by Bharat Biotech & Sputnik V by Dr. Reddy's.