70 mn doses ready: Delays over pricing holding back India’s vaccine rollout

 The Indian government may be looking to put pressure on Serum to lower its prices, as seen by its controversial decision to greenlight a rival vaccine

As major countries like the U.S. and China race to vaccinate their populations with rapidly approved shots, tens of millions of doses prepared for India are sitting in storage despite having been authorized for use. While distribution in other nations started soon after approval with pricing deals signed ahead of time, New Delhi and Serum Institute of India Ltd. — the world’s biggest vaccine maker by volume and AstraZeneca Plc’s local partner — have engaged in months of haggling behind closed doors and are yet to sign a formal supply agreement. That has left at least 70 million vaccine doses in limbo despite the urgent need in a country facing the world’s second-largest outbreak.

On Sunday, Serum’s billionaire Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said Indian officials have “orally” agreed to buy 100 million doses at a “special price” of 200 rupees ($2.74) a shot, below the about $4 to $5 price tag given to the U.K. government. The company then wants to sell vaccines privately to individuals and companies at a marked-up cost of 1,000 rupees within two to three months.

The Indian government may be looking to put pressure on Serum to lower its prices, as seen by its controversial decision to greenlight a rival vaccine developed by a local company that’s still recruiting volunteers for final-stage testing, according to Abhishek Sharma, an analyst at Jefferies…Read More