DTMT Network

Ocugen, Inc and Bharat Biotech announced on April 18, 2022, that they have entered into an amendment to their Co-development, Supply and Commercialisation Agreement to expand Ocugen’s exclusive territory to include the commercialisation of COVAXIN in Mexico.

With the extension of the exclusive territory expansion agreement Ocugen has received commercialisation rights for all of North America for Covaxin, the companies informed in a joint statement.

 “We’re excited to commercialize Covaxin in Mexico, as authorities there have made conquering this pandemic a major priority,” Dr Shankar Musunuri, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Ocugen said.

“After meeting with Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, in Delhi, we are encouraged by the role Covaxin can play in Mexico’s continuing efforts to defeat the COVID19  pandemic,” he added.

Dr Musunuri further added that Covaxin is currently under review by COFEPRIS (Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios) for emergency use among children between 2 and 18 years of age in Mexico, and his company is prepared to collaborate with the public health community to help their efforts in the country.

Covaxin, which is a whole virion inactivated vaccine, elicits robust cellular immune memory to SARS-CoV-2 and Variants of Concern and combined with logistical advantages that could support vaccine access in hard-to-reach communities, makes the vaccine an ideal vaccination option for Mexico at this stage of the pandemic, Ocugen said.

 “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Ocugen for Mexico, along with the United States and Canada,” Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Biotech said.

“Covaxin is a safe and efficacious inactivated vaccine for all age groups as evident from its data from global introduction,” he added.

Dr Ella further informed that Bharat Biotech will extend full support to Ocugen in both the companies' endeavour to expedite technology transfer activities towards commercial-scale manufacturing of Covaxin in North America.

The companies said that the profit share structure will remain the same as that in the United States.

It may be recalled that the World Health Organisation has included Covaxin in its list for emergency authorisation use and the vaccine is currently authorised under emergency use in more than 25 countries, including Mexico.