Aurobindo Pharma said it had entered into an agreement with US firm COVAXX’s to develop, COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine once developed is meant for supplies in India, to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) agency and non-exclusive supplies to other emerging markets. The Indian drugmaker also has non-exclusive rights to sell the shot — which is currently undergoing an early-stage trial — in certain other emerging markets, the Hyderabad-based company said in an exchange filing. COVAXX, a unit of privately-owned United Biomedical Inc, plans to pursue mid- and late-stage trials for the vaccine candidate from early 2021 in Asia, Latin America and the United States.
Commenting on the development, N. Govindarajan, Managing Director, Aurobindo Pharma Limited, said “We are proud to partner with COVAXX in developing the first-ever synthetic peptide-based vaccine to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. This vaccine has immense potential in eliminating shedding, and hence containing, the spread of the pandemic.”
COVAXX co-founder and CEO Mei Mei Hu said his company is committed to equitable distribution by prioritising emerging markets where the unmet need is greatest. “During this global health crisis response, we must establish partners with the strongest capabilities, like Aurobindo, to prioritise the development and the delivery of our vaccine,” he said.
Under the agreement, Aurobindo Pharma has obtained exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and sell COVAXX’s UB-612 vaccine in India and to UNICEF, as well as non-exclusive rights in other select emerging and developing markets. Aurobindo will manufacture the finished doses at its facilities in Hyderabad. Aurobindo has the capacity of manufacturing 220 million doses in multi-dose presentation and is building additional facilities to have a total capacity of nearly 480 million doses by June 2021.
Last month, COVAXX said it had received purchase commitments totalling $2.8 billion to deliver more than 140 million doses of its potential COVID-19 vaccine to developing countries, including Brazil, Peru and Ecuador.
