Covaxin manufacturer says advance payment is common, but Brazil was exception

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Indian pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech on Wednesday published a note with clarifications on its procedures for the sale of the Covaxin vaccine to the Brazilian government. Due to accusations of irregularities, the contract was suspended by Brazil’s Ministry of Health yesterday, June 29.

According to the pharmaceutical company, the prepayment requirement is adopted in several countries before vaccines are shipped, but the contract with Brazil was different and no amount has been received by the company so far.

Among the accusations weighing against negotiations is an alleged attempt to pay in advance, foreseen in a kind of invoice sent to the Ministry of Health. The document was corrected following a request by a Ministry official.

Bharat advises that negotiations with the Brazilian government, intermediated by Precisa Medicamentos, started in November last year and that all procedures were performed according to the company’s standards until the contract was signed.

With respect to the price of Covaxin, the pharmaceutical company said that the range between US$15 and US$20 per dose is applied to all markets outside India and that the company received advance payment from several countries for its highest value.

According to India, Precisa Medicamentos provides local assistance, supports applications with government agencies, arranges licensing and distribution for the products, and conducts the vaccine’s phase 3 clinical trials.

According to Bharat, this type of partnership is similar in other countries. After the conclusion of phase 3 trials in India, which showed global efficacy of 78% for the Covaxin, trials will begin to be conducted in Brazil, by the Albert Einstein Institute, with 5,000 volunteers.

Source: Valor