Amid Graft Allegations, Bharat Biotech Scraps Covaxin Deal With 2 Brazil Firms

In June, the Brazil health minister announced the country will suspend its $324 mn contract with Bharat Biotech.

Bharat Biotech's indigenous COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin.

(Image: Erum Gour/The Quint)

Bharat Biotech on Friday, 23 July, announced the termination of its memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Precisa Medicamentos and Envixia Pharmaceuticals to sell its COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, in Brazil.

Further, the pharmaceutical company said: “We will continue to work diligently with ANVISA, the Brazilian drug regulator, to complete the regulatory approval process for the vaccine.”

This comes amid a controversy over a $324 million deal for import of 20 million doses between Brazil and Bharat Biotech.

BACKGROUND

Earlier, on 29 June, amid allegations of corruption that rocked the Brazil government, Brazil Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga announced that the country will suspend its $324 million contract with India's vaccine maker Bharat Biotech, a deal which is being investigated for discrepancies.

Brazil federal prosecutors had initiated an investigation into the contract between the Brazil government and Bharat Biotech, as doubts of discrepancies within the contract had surfaced.

The alleged scandal, dubbed as 'CovaxinGate' on social media, has embroiled the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in a controversy, with his government being investigated for alleged corruption.