Beximco-India Serum Institute Coronavirus Vaccine: Beximco cuts deal to be lone distributor of Indian Covid vaccine | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Sunday
July 03, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
SUNDAY, JULY 03, 2022
Beximco cuts deal to be lone distributor of Indian Covid vaccine

Coronavirus chronicle

TBS Report
28 August, 2020, 04:45 pm
Last modified: 29 August, 2020, 12:02 pm

Related News

  • Vaccination for Cholera begins in Dhaka on Sunday
  • Bavarian Nordic eyes more monkeypox vaccine orders amid global 'wake-up call'
  • Beximco Sukuk holders to get 5.80% half-yearly interest
  • WTO seeks fish, vaccine deals as war ignites trade tensions
  • Vietnam develops new African swine fever vaccine: Official

Beximco cuts deal to be lone distributor of Indian Covid vaccine

Beximco Pharmaceuticals will invest with Serum Institute to be its exclusive distributor in Bangladesh for the coronavirus vaccine the company is developing

TBS Report
28 August, 2020, 04:45 pm
Last modified: 29 August, 2020, 12:02 pm
File Photo: Small bottles labelled with a "Vaccine Covid-19" sticker and a medical syringe are seen in this illustration taken April 10, 2020. Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
File Photo: Small bottles labelled with a "Vaccine Covid-19" sticker and a medical syringe are seen in this illustration taken April 10, 2020. Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd has announced that it will invest with Serum Institute of India (SII) for the development of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Beximco Pharmaceuticals – the fastest-growing manufacturer of generic pharmaceutical products and active pharmaceutical ingredients in Bangladesh – will be the exclusive distributor of SII for this vaccine in Bangladesh. 

The investment amount will be treated as an advance, and once the vaccine receives regulatory approvals, Serum Institute – the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume – will include Bangladesh among the countries that will be the first to receive an agreed quantity of this vaccine from SII on a priority basis, says a press release. 

Beximco's investment amount and Serum Institute's priority supply commitment will be determined in consideration of Serum Institute's production capacity and earlier commitments to other countries.

Officials of Beximco Pharmaceuticals told The Business Standard that a preliminary agreement has been signed with Serum Institute and that there has been no talk on investment yet. 

A decision regarding the amount of investment will be made once Serum Institute produces the vaccine, they said.

Beximco Pharmaceuticals will also help meet the needs of the Bangladesh government by offering it an opportunity for the vaccine to be reserved in desired quantities for priority supply at prices to be agreed between the government and SII. 

The company will also secure additional quantities of the vaccine for distribution in the private pay market in Bangladesh. 

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (AZD1222) is an adenovirus vector-based vaccine, currently undergoing large-scale phase III trials in Brazil, the US, the UK and India. 

The UK trials are well underway and have shown very encouraging results and are expected to receive approval by the end of 2020. SII has already partnered with Oxford/AstraZeneca along with Gates Foundation and Gavi to produce more than a billion doses of the vaccine for global supply. 

In a joint statement, Adar C Poonawalla, owner and CEO of SII, and Shayan F Rahman, principal of Beximco Pharmaceuticals, said, "We are excited to bring together two of the leading pharmaceuticals companies in India and Bangladesh with the scale and capabilities to bring a vastly promising treatment to the people who need it the most." 

"This landmark agreement reflects the deep-rooted desire for collaboration between the two countries and as representatives of the two nations, between us we can go a long way towards helping to mitigate the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic," they added.

Dr ASM Alamgir, principal scientific officer at the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told The Business Standard that the government has to buy the vaccine when it comes in the market. 

"If Beximco is ready to supply it in advance, it will be an advantage for Bangladesh. The government will be able to bargain with Beximco here. Bangladesh may be able to buy the vaccine at the rate set by the Indian government," he argued.

The government has given the go-ahead for human trials of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech.

"Bangladesh has decided to approve the vaccine trial, the cost of which will be borne by Sinovac," Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Thursday.

The government has proposed that the United States utilize the services of Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies in the manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines and drugs.

It has decided to allocate Tk765 crore for the purchase of about 22.5 lakh Covid-19 vaccines.

Earlier, Health Secretary Abdul Mannan said the minimum price of a vaccine could be $40 (equivalent to Tk3,400).

Bangladesh / Economy / Top News / Health / Covid-19 in Bangladesh

Beximco / Vaccine

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Vehicles ply the Padma Bridge on Sunday marking the beginning of a new era for the country’s southern region. The bridge was inaugurated on 25 June amid much fanfare. PHOTO: MUMIT M
    No possibility of allowing motorcycles on Padma Bridge before Eid: Cabinet Secretary
  • VAT exemption for edible oil likely to get extension till Sept 
    VAT exemption for edible oil likely to get extension till Sept 
  • File Photo: BSS
    India pulls out of LoC funding for part of Rooppur power transmission work

MOST VIEWED

  • Former North Korean defectors living in South Korea, release balloons containing one dollar banknotes, radios, CDs and leaflets denouncing the North Korean regime, towards the north near the demilitarized zone which separates the two Koreas in Paju, north of Seoul January 15, 2014. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
    North Korea blames 'alien things' near border with South for Covid outbreak
  • People wearing protective face masks commute amid concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Pyongyang, North Korea March 30, 2020, in this photo released by Kyodo. Picture taken March 30, 2020. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
    S Korea says leaflets sent by defectors unlikely to be cause of Covid in N Korea
  • Test tubes are seen in front of displayed Pfizer and Biontech logos in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021. Reuters: llustration
    BioNTech, Pfizer to start testing universal vaccine for coronaviruses
  • A woman holds a small bottle labelled with a "Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine" sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
    S Korea approves first domestically developed Covid vaccine
  • Photo: Collected
    US medical experts call for Omicron-specific Covid boosters
  • David E Adler. Sketch: TBS
    Who managed Covid-19 best, and why?

Related News

  • Vaccination for Cholera begins in Dhaka on Sunday
  • Bavarian Nordic eyes more monkeypox vaccine orders amid global 'wake-up call'
  • Beximco Sukuk holders to get 5.80% half-yearly interest
  • WTO seeks fish, vaccine deals as war ignites trade tensions
  • Vietnam develops new African swine fever vaccine: Official

Features

A Glittery Eid

A Glittery Eid

3h | Mode
Rise’s target customers are people who crave to express themselves through what they wear, and their clothing line is not relegated to any age range.

Level up your Eid game with Rise

3h | Mode
Stefan Dercon, a Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford and former Chief Economist of the Department of International Development (DFID). Illustration: TBS

Renewing the ‘elite bargain’ for Bangladesh’s future growth

6h | Panorama
The eye-catching commuter: Suzuki Gixxer SF 155

The eye-catching commuter: Suzuki Gixxer SF 155

1d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

Chirkutt performs on Fete de La Music Fest

Chirkutt performs on Fete de La Music Fest

5h | Videos
Madhuri Sanchita's seed ornaments exhibition

Madhuri Sanchita's seed ornaments exhibition

5h | Videos
Bangabandhu Tunnel to change lives of million

Bangabandhu Tunnel to change lives of million

16h | Videos
Sowari Ghat's fresh fish market

Sowari Ghat's fresh fish market

16h | Videos

Most Read

1
Padma Bridge from satellite. Photo: Screengrab
Bangladesh

Padma Bridge from satellite 

2
Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'
Splash

Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'

3
TBS Illustration
Education

Universities may launch online classes again after Eid

4
Photo: TBS
Bangladesh

Motorcycles banned on Padma Bridge 

5
Photo: Collected
Economy

Tech startup ShopUp bags $65m in Series B4 funding

6
World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years
Economy

World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
Launch operators on various river routes see a steep drop in passengers after the opening of the the Padma Bridge. Photo: TBS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net