Bharat Biotech will soon ramp up its manufacturing capacity to 70 crore doses by the end of this year, said Dr. Raches Ella, Head-Business Development & International Advocacy, Bharat Biotech while speaking to members of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) Hyderabad on the topic "All About Vaccines". 

We focused on developing the product last year but now our focus is on ramping up our manufacturing capacity, added Ella. 

"We are happy to have the full support of the government because of which we are able to stand where we are today in this journey. The vaccine is co-developed by Bharat Biotech and ICMR. The government has placed an advanced purchase order of Rs. 1,500 crores. This will help us to increase our risk appetite. That is why we are expanding to Bangalore and Gujarat," informed Ella. 

"The company has received permissions to carry out paediatric trials of the vaccine and it may commence trials from June 1st on children aged 2-18 years. Kids vaccines of Bharat Biotech may get the license in the third quarter of this year," commented Ella. 

I am happy that our hard work is paying off well as the vaccine is working well and saving lives and we have this good feeling when we go back home from work each day, commented Ella. 

Talking about challenges, Ella said, "The success probability of a vaccine is just 6% from discovery to development. That is why we see fewer vaccines. And we took that biggest and the calculated risk." 

"In normal circumstances, the development of a vaccine takes anywhere between 7 to 10 years, which we have done in the least possible time. This was never taught in books. This is something we learned practically. The journey was challenging, promising, and fulfilling," explained Ella. 

About WHO approval, Raches Ella said, "We have initiated the process and may get its approval soon. A few of our products in the past have got approval. We expect approval for Covaxin by the end of Q3 or Q4."