PremiumNEW DELHI : New Delhi: Pfizer has offered to supply its messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine to the Indian government at a “not-for-profit" price as part of its strategy to provide distinct prices for the vaccine based on the economic profile of the country.
“For India, Pfizer has offered a not-for-profit price for its vaccine for the government immunization programme. We continue to be in discussions with the government and remain committed to make our vaccine available for deployment in India’s immunization programme," a Pfizer spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.
Premium The company’s statement followed certain press reports, which it said incorrectly cited prices for American vaccines.
The US-based company said that it has adopted variable pricing as part of its strategy to provide vaccines exclusively to the government for their covid-19 immunization programme.
“This would be our approach in India as well. Further, in all our agreements Pfizer has adopted a distinct pricing structure for high, middle, and low/lower-middle-income countries consistent with our commitment to work towards equitable and affordable access for our covid-19 vaccine for people around the world," the company said.
The company spokesperson was not immediately available to give details on what was the “not-for-profit" price it has offered the Indian government.
In the US, the company is charging $19.5 per dose from the government to supply the vaccine, through which it expects to make some profit despite chief executive officer Albert Bourla calling that “pandemic pricing". In European Union, Pfizer has significantly increased prices of its vaccine over the last few months from 12 euros initially, to 15.5 euros and then 19.5 euros ($23) per dose for orders in 2022-23.
Pfizer has forecastd $15 billion in additional sales from the vaccine alone in 2021, with its overall profit estimated at $4 billion, according to various reports.
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