Biological E, Bharat Biotech together has 250 million stockpiles of Covid vaccine doses

Hyderabad: About 250 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are currently in stock at two major Hyderabadi vaccine producers, Biological E Ltd and Bharat Biotech, ready to ship as and when orders are received.

Biological E is keeping 200 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax, and Bharat Biotech is holding 50 million doses of Covaxin, according to the sources of the two companies.

Dr Vikram Paradkar, Executive Vice President (Manufacturing), Biological E, said the firm produced about 30 crore doses of Corbevax in total, abiding by the vaccine manufacturing commitment to the Central government.

In March '22, Biological E successfully supplied 10 crore doses to the government.

"Currently, we have approximately 20 crores (200 million) doses that are fully tested and ready for supply, as and when we receive orders. Additionally, we manufactured 20 crore doses equivalent of the antigen which will help us ramp up the manufacturing of the Corbevax finished product quickly," Paradkar told PTI.

The vaccine has been developed by Biological E in collaboration with Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development (Texas Children's CVD) and Baylor College of Medicine (Baylor) in Houston, Texas, USA.

With PTI inputs