New Delhi, Feb 8: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has received royalty of Rs. 171.74 crore from Bharat Biotech from sales of Covaxin.
The Council had spent around Rs. 35 crore in research and development (R&D) of Covaxin. “Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has received royalty of Rs. 171.74 crore till 31st January, 2022 from Bharat Biotech from sales of Covaxin,” Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The Minister further said that funds with ICMR are utilised for health research activities including emerging research priorities and research capacity building.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge had asked the question. Covaxin is the first Covid-19 vaccine that has been developed completely in India. In March 2020, following the successful isolation of the SARS CoV-2 virus at ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV), ICMR entered into a public-private partnership (PPP) with Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) to develop the virus isolate into an effective vaccine candidate.
ICMR-NIV characterized the vaccine developed by BBIL through in-vitro experiments and electron microscopy studies. People in India have mostly received Covishield and Covaxin vaccine doses in the wake of pandemic. As many as 170.21 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under nationwide vaccination drive.
