Zydus Cadila to reduce price of needle-free ZyCoV-D COVID-19 vaccine

Courtesy of the persistent negotiation by the government of India, Zydus Cadila has noded to reduce the price of its COVID-19 vaccine to Rs 265 a dose but a final deal is yet to be reached, sources informed PTI on Sunday. Apart from the price of its COVID-19 vaccine, a disposable painless jet applicator priced at Rs 93 is required for each dose, taking the final price of ZyCoV-D to Rs 358 per dose. It was also informed that the final decision is still to be taken. It is pertinent to mention here that Zydus Cadila, an Ahmedabad-based pharma company, earlier had reportedly proposed the price of Rs 1,900 for its three-dose regimen.

"The company has brought down the price to Rs 358 for each dose which includes Rs 93, the cost of a disposable jet applicator, following repeated negotiations by the government.... A final decision in the matter is likely to be taken this week," a source in the know of developments told PTI.

As per the report, the government of India is still waiting for the recommendations from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) for giving a nod for the Zydus Cadila COVID vaccine in the inoculation drive for adults and children with co-morbidities. NTAGI will provide the protocol and framework for the introduction of this vaccine in the COVID-19 immunisation drive.

ZyCoV-D comes in three doses in which a gap of 28 days is mandatory between each jab. Zydus Cadila has made the world's first DNA-based needle-free COVID-19 vaccine. It received Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the drug regulator on 20 August, making it the first vaccine to be administered to those aged 12 years and above. Vaccines like Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V are being given across two doses to only those above 18 years of age .

How is ZyCoV-D different?

As per the company's official website, ZyCoV-D is a DNA vaccine based on plasmid DNA - a small, circular and extrachromosomal bacterial DNA. The plasmid DNA with its property of self-replication carries the genetic code of the virus. This helps the plasmids make spike protein and develop antibodies. ZyCoV-D is a three-dose vaccine injected at an interval of 28 days each. ZyCoV-D is manufactured by Zydus Cadila in collaboration with Centre's National Biopharma Mission.

Phase-3 of clinical trials was conducted on 30,000 healthy adult volunteers and found to be safe, well-tolerated, and immunogenic. In phase-1/2 trials, after conducting trials on 1000 volunteers, the vaccine was found to be safe and elicit a strong immunogenic response. The vaccine trial was conducted across 60 plus sites.

(With Inputs from PTI)

(Image: PTI/Twitter/@Zydusuniverse)