New Delhi: The price of Covishield and Covaxin, two Covid-19 vaccines which have been granted Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) in India, is likely to be capped at Rs 275 per dose along with an additional service charge of Rs 150, official sources said, news agency PTI reported.
The two Covid-19 vaccines are expected to soon get regular market approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has been directed to start working towards capping the price to make the vaccines affordable, according to the sources.
Covaxin and Covishield are priced at Rs 1,200 per dose and Rs 780 per dose respectively, in private facilities, as of now. A service charge of Rs 150 is included in the prices.
On January 19, a Subject Expert Committee on Covid-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) recommended granting regular market approval to Covishield and Covaxin for use in adults, subject to certain conditions.
Quoting an official source, the PTI report said that the NPPA has been asked to work towards capping the price of the vaccines, and that the price is likely to be capped at Rs 275 per dose along with an additional service charge of Rs 150.
On October 25, Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, had submitted an application to the DCGI seeking regular market approval for the Covishield vaccine, according to media reports.
V Krishna Mohan, the whole-time director at Bharat Biotech, had submitted complete information on the chemistry, manufacturing and controls of Covaxin, along with the pre-clinical and clinical data, a few weeks ago, while seeking regular market authorisation for the vaccine.
On January 3 last year, Covaxin and Covishield were granted EUA.