Wockhardt in talks to make 200 crore vaccine doses annually: Report

The Mumbai-based firm proposed to manufacture most vaccines, except Covaxin

Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company Wockhardt has reportedly submitted a proposal to produce 200 crore yearly doses of multiple Covid-19 vaccines as India faces the daunting task of vaccinating its large population to combat possible future waves.

Wockhardt’s submission to the Centre earlier this month sought help in finding potential partners in the country whose vaccines it could produce, The Indian Express reported. The biotechnology firm has offered its manufacturing and research prowess in service of producing and supplying a diverse range of mRNA, protein-based and viral vector-based vaccines, starting with 50 crore doses by February 2022.

Wockhardt’s offering could cover vaccines like Covishield, Pfizer, Moderna, Sputnik V and Novavax, depending on approval by the Centre. However, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin does not fall into its plans at this time, given specific requirements for a biosafety level 3 (BSL 3) facility and a longer output time.

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Wockhardt already has an agreement in place with the United Kingdom government to fill the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine into vials and package them for use only in the United Kingdom, an agreement which could be extended to other vaccines when required.

The government has been scrambling to ramp up vaccine production capacity as the country faces a vaccine crunch, attempting to rope in more private players to expand the country’s capability to produce more Covaxin. Support from private pharma companies in manufacturing vaccines would help reduce some of the burden in procuring and producing enough doses to inoculate citizens.

“The idea is not to make two billion doses of a single vaccine, but to have 2-3 vaccines available so that there is a more sustainable activity,” an anonymous source told the publication.

DH coud not independently verify the report.