SII, Centre near agreement to supply Covishield at Rs 250 per dose: report

New Delhi: Negotiation between Serum Institute of India (SII) and the Centre for signing a supply agreement of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate Covishield is in the final stages and price per dose is likely to be around Rs 250, as per a report published in Business Standard.

“Talks for signing a supply contract are now in the final stages of discussion and could be done soon,” stated sources privy to the developments in the report.

On Sunday, SII became the first indigenous company to apply to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking emergency use authorisation for the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine in the country citing unmet medical needs due to the pandemic and in the interest of the public at large, official sources said.

The phase-three clinical trial of the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine, Covishield, is being conducted by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India on Sunday (SII), co-sponsored by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in various parts of the country in addition to clinical studies being carried out by Oxford-AstraZeneca in the UK and Brazil.

Based on phase two and three clinical trial results, the SII with the help of the ICMR will pursue early availability of the vaccine for India, the country’s apex health research body had said last month.