US Development Bank To Finance One Bn COVID Vaccine Doses By Biological E: What We Know So Far

Hyderabad-based Biological E Ltd will manufacture 1 billion doses of covid-19 vaccines including one developed by Johnson & Johnson under the Quad Vaccine Partnership announced on Friday, a White House press note said.

The note was issued after the first summit of the leaders of Quad countries ¨C US, India, Australia and Japan. It comes in the face of a China that is seen as rising fast and being aggressive towards neighbours with territorial disputes and employing coercive tactics with trade partners.

AFP

The summit was a virtual one with Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla later telling reporters that an in-person meeting of the Quad leaders would happen later this year. The four countries agreed on Friday to pool their financial resources, manufacturing capacities and logistical strengths to ramp up manufacture and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines across the region as part of efforts to boost post-pandemic recovery.

Reuters

What will the initiative do?

The initiative will create additional manufacturing capacities in India, the world¡¯s largest producer of vaccines, to make doses developed in the US, including the Johnson & Johnson candidate. This will be done with financing from the US and Japan.

Australia will help overcome last mile and logistical delivery issues and assist in delivering the vaccines to countries in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Islands.

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Which countries are a part of the initiative?

¡°The United States, through the DFC (Development Finance Corporation), will work with Biological E Ltd., to finance increased capacity to support Biological E¡¯s effort to produce at least 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2022 with Stringent Regulatory Authorization (SRA) and/or World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listing (EUL), including the Johnson & Johnson vaccine," the statement said. Biological E Ltd is the largest manufacturer of tentanus vaccines and snake venom antidote in India.

¡°Japan, through JICA( Japan international Cooperation Agency), is in discussions to provide concessional yen loans for the Government of India to expand manufacturing for COVID-19 vaccines for export, with a priority on producing vaccines that have received authorization from WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) or Stringent Regulatory Authorities," the US statement said.

Reuters

TheDFC is also working to strengthen the vaccine supply chain and last mile logistics for distribution. Under its Global Health and Prosperity Initiative, DFC will invest between $5 million and $500 million on eligible projects, including equity and debt financing, political risk insurance and technical development.