Ocugen Plans To Sell 100M Covaxin Doses In US This Year: Reuters

Ocugen Inc’s OCGN CEO Shankar Musunuri said that the company plans to sell 100 million doses of India’s two-dose COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. this year, Reuters reports.

• Covaxin is 81% effective based on an interim analysis of late-stage trial data, its developers Bharat Biotech and the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research reported earlier this month.
• Ocugen aims to launch the vaccine in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2021, initially with imported shots before beginning production there.
• Musunuri said COVAXIN had the potential to work against COVID-19 variants, and Ocugen could initially focus on children as it was likely to be safe for those over the age of 12.
• Ocugen will have U.S. rights to the vaccine and be responsible for its clinical development, regulatory approval, and commercialization. Bharat Biotech will also transfer its technology and keep 55% of the profit.
• Shankar Musunuri said Ocugen was expecting more data from Bharat Biotech on COVAXIN after a study in January that showed the shot was likely to be effective against the British strain coronavirus.
• India’s drug regulator approved COVAXIN for emergency use in January for people above 12, saying it could act against the whole body of a virus instead of just its “spike-protein” tip, potentially making it more effective in case of mutations.
• Price Action: OCGN shares are trading 1.6% lower at $9.74 in premarket trading on the last check Tuesday.