India to buy 10 mn doses of Zydus Cadila's COVID-19 vaccine at Rs 265 each

India has placed an order for 10 million doses of Zydus Cadila`s DNA COVID-19 vaccine at a price of 265 rupees ($3.57) per dose, the drugmaker said on Monday.

The three-dose vaccine, ZyCoV-D, was approved by the country`s drug regulator in August for emergency use in adults and children aged 12 years and above.

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As opposed to traditional syringes, it is administered using a needle-free "PharmaJet" applicator, which will be sold at 93 rupees per dose.

"The needle-free application of the vaccination, we hope, will motivate many more to vaccinate and safeguard themselves from COVID-19," Sharvil Patel, managing director of Zydus, said in a filing https://bit.ly/3BVRY1h to the stock exchanges.

The total cost to the government to inoculate a person with the vaccine and the applicator would come up to 1,074 rupees ($14.48).

India has so far administered nearly 1.09 billion vaccine doses to its adult population, of which 88% have received a version of AstraZeneca`s shot by the Serum Institute of India, which sells it to the state governments at 400 rupees a dose and to private hospitals for 600 rupees.

The two other shots used are a home-grown one by vaccine maker Bharat Biotech and Russia`s Sputnik V. Bharat Biotech supplies its vaccine at 150 rupees a dose, while Dr. Reddy`s Laboratories, the supplier of Sputnik V, has priced the shot at 995 rupees.

The 265 rupee price had been decided in consultation with the government, Zydus said.