Zydus Cadila to get clarity on ZyCoV-D Covid vaccine pricing in 1-2 weeks: MD Sharvil Patel

Cadila Healthcare (Zydus Cadila) said talks on pricing its Covid-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D had aligned closely with the government, and an announcement was expected in the next 1-2 weeks.
"We are hopeful of seeing some clarity in the next 1-2 weeks," said Sharvil Patel, managing director of Zydus Cadila, late on Friday, which was made public by AlphaStreet India, a channel for earnings calls, on Saturday. Patel did not offer details of the final pricing.

On Sunday, news wire PTI reported, citing government sources, that the company had agreed to bring down the price of ZyCov-D to ₹265 a dose following negotiations with the government but that a final deal had not yet been reached.


According to the report, it would charge ₹93 for the disposable painless jet applicator, taking the total price to ₹358 per dose. Earlier, the company proposed to charge ₹1,900 for three doses, PTI reported. Zydus started scaling up the manufacture of ZyCoV-D at its new facility from October, he said, adding that the drug maker had signed up with Shilpa Medicare to produce the drug substance of ZyCoV-D.

Zydus has the potential to manufacture around 10-20 million doses per month.

The company received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for the plasmid DNA vaccine in August for use in the 12-18 age group, besides adults. Zydus had planned to launch the vaccine in September, but that was delayed as price negotiations with the government were prolonged.

ET reported previously that Zydus had quoted less than ₹300 for a single dose, without including the price of the PharmaJet - a needle-free injection technology that is required to administer the vaccine.

The government has been buying Bharat Biotech's Covaxin at ₹225 a dose and the other India-made Covid-19 vaccine, Covishield, at ₹215. The government's subject expert committee on Covid-19 has recommended emergency use approval for Covaxin, for children aged above 2 years.

ZyCoV-D is a three-dose vaccine which will have to be administered on the 28th day and the 56th day, following the first dose.