Covaxin manufacturing may get a booster shot as demand for vaccines grows

As demand for vaccines grows with states pressing the pedal to increase vaccinations per day, the manufacturing of indigenous vaccine Covaxin may get a boost.

Hyderabad-based vaccine major Bharat Biotech, which is now making 40 million doses of the vaccine per month, has an option to activate another two sites if the need arises — one at Ankleshwar in Gujarat and another at Bengaluru. Both are company-owned sites, a company spokesperson infor­m­ed without divulging further details.  The Mahar­ashtra government too has indicated that 126 million doses of Covaxin can be made at Haffekin Biopharma­ceutical Corporation in Mum­bai, a biomedical research institute, under a joint venture with Bharat Biotech.

Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray said Rs 154 crore would be spent to set up this vaccine making facility at Haffkine. Maharashtra is sending a detailed proposal in this regard to the Centre and the CM has already discussed the same with the Prime Minister. The proposal is to make the vaccines under a joint venture with Bharat Biotech. This could either through a technology transfer or it can be a fill and finish facility if the drug substance is supplied by the Hyderabad based firm. The target is to make 126 million doses of Covaxin.

Bharat Biotech did not comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, Bharat Biot­ech makes 15 million doses of the rabies vaccine at its Anklesh­war site which it had acquired from GlaxoSmith­Kline(GSK) Asia in 2019. Gujarat-based Chiron Behring Vaccines is a single-product vaccine manufacturing company which has an installed capacity to produce 15 million doses of anti-rabies vaccine per year.

Bharat Biotech also has another site at Bengaluru that is currently making vaccines other than Covaxin. It can be also used if the need arises.

Krishna Ella, CMD of Bharat Biotech, had indicated that the firm had plans to make 700 million doses of Covaxin in 2021. The demand for vaccines is on the rise as states ramp up vaccination. 

Maharashtra is targeting 300,000 vaccinations per day. Demand for Covid vaccine has also risen in the latest phase of the drive in Gujarat with 2500 centres of the total 5400 being operational, including all PHCs and CHCs, up from just 600-700 at the start of the month.