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Bharat Biotech has commenced direct supply of its COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’ to 14 states, including Delhi and Maharashtra, with effect from May 1, according to the company’s Joint Managing Director Suchitra Ella.

The Hyderabad-based firm has started supplying its COVID-19 treatment vaccine to the states based on the allocations received by the central government.

“Bharat Biotech confirms direct supplies of COVAXIN to the following state govt’s since 1/5/21, based on the allocations received by GoI. Requests have been received from other states, & will be processed for distribution based on availability of stocks 24×7,” Ella tweeted.

The company is supplying vaccines to Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

On April 29, Bharat Biotech announced a cut in the price of ‘Covaxin’ for states to Rs 400 per dose from the earlier Rs 600 per dose.

This followed widespread criticism of its pricing policy as it sold Covaxin to the central government at Rs 150 per dose.

India has announced the expansion of its COVID-19 vaccination drive by allowing its large 18-plus population to get inoculated from May 1.

In another development, speaking at the EU-India Business Roundtable, Ella noted that more than patent relaxations, it is the partnerships and continuous supply of critical materials that are critical to ramp up the production and cater not only to the domestic demand, but also to the global demand.

Partnerships, technology transfers, and supply of various critical equipment and materials, which go into the production of COVID-19 vaccines, are must for scaling up the production to cater to the huge demand, Ella has said.

She noted that collaborations are necessary to cater to the vaccination needs of a huge country like India.

“We are registering it (Covaxin) in the US and we would be glad to do that in Europe… So, we would be happy to collaborate and to partner with companies and academic institutions from the EU.

(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)