Brazil is exploring vaccination alliance with India Bharat Biotech | Business and Financial Issues

Opponents point to the high price of the drug, negotiations are urgent and wait for approval as red flags on the deal.

Officials in Brazil have opened a $ 1.6 billion ($ 320m) deal on a 20 million trial of COVID-19 vaccine developed by India’s Bharat Biotech, according to a Reuters report.

The Prosecutor-General’s Office (PGR) mentioned the high prices, urgent negotiations and waiting for approval as the red flags of the Bharat alliance signed in February, before joining Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson.

Bharat did not respond to a request for comment outside of the Indian trade period.

The Bharat agreement was reviewed from a Senate inquiry in Brazil, which gave evidence Wednesday from the head of Precisa Medicamentos, Bharat mediator in Brasilia.

In confirmation of the initial investigation, prosecutors filed a June 16 statement stating that Precisa’s associates included Global Saude, a company accused of selling but not delivering drugs to the Ministry of Health in a case investigated by police.

Precisa said she was unaware of the allegations against her opponents and was open to collaborating with Senate investigators. In a statement, the company said its talks with the ministry of medicine were transparent and that the cost of the Bharat vaccine in Brazil was reimbursed in 12 other countries.

The Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that no payment had been made to Precisa and that its legal department was investigating the matter.

Global Saude did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Opponents questioned why the Ministry of Health agreed to buy the Bharat vaccine, which did not remove the barriers, about $ 15 per dose: much more than the Pfizer vaccine, which had legal approval.

“The record of inconsistencies between their counterparts in Precisa and the high cost of compensation… needs to be thoroughly investigated in terms of public security and litigation,” the authors wrote.

In another Reuters report, investigators in the Senate cited evidence from an unnamed government official stating “unnecessary pressure” from health ministry officials to comply with the Bharat vaccine, Covaxin.

In March, Brazilian health minister Anvisa rejected a request from the government to withdraw Covaxin funds, citing concerns about Bharat’s design, as well as insecurity and other documents.

This month, the Anvisa board agreed to allow only four million Covaxin recruits to continue their safety training, but the Ministry of Health has to sign a memorandum of understanding with the supervisor on the requirements.