Foreign manufacturers of two COVID-19 vaccines, AstraZeneca and the manufacturers of Sputnik V, have responded to Telangana’s invitation for global tenders, Director of Public Health Dr G Srinivasa Rao said on Thursday, May 27. The two companies are in negotiations with the Telangana State Medical Services Infrastructure Development Corporation (TSMIDC), and are likely to arrive at a decision by June 4, he told the media. The Telangana government had recently invited global tenders to procure 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from foreign vaccine manufacturers or their agents in case of imported vaccines.
According to PTI, AstraZeneca and Russian Direct Investment Fund, who are manufacturing Sputnik V, are the only two companies that participated in a pre-bid meeting held by the Telangana government on May 26. The last date to submit the quotation is June 4. "Representatives of AstraZeneca and Sputnik V participated, though some trade representatives also took part in the pre-bid meeting," sources close to the development told PTI. The bidders can also quote their offers to supply the vaccine in part, provided that monthly supply shall not be less than 1.5 million doses and the total supply of 10 million doses shall be completed within six months from the issuance of Letter of Intent (LoI), according to the tender document.
AstraZeneca sells two COVID-19 vaccines. While it has tied up with Serum Institute of India and rolled out Covishield in India, it sells the jab under brand name Vaxzevria in Europe and other countries. Russian Direct Investment Fund inked a pact with Dr Reddy's Laboratories for the first 125 million people doses (250 million vials) of Sputnik V in India. The Director of Public Health also announced that the state government has received complaints on 64 private hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. “Show cause notices have been sent to these hospitals, giving them 24 to 48 hours’ time to submit a satisfactory explanation. If they don’t do so, the permission for COVID-19 treatment will be revoked,” he said. He added that further action will be taken as per law.
With PTI inputs
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