Health department defends move to drop Biovac in favour of Cipla
Cipla will offer a 10-valent pneumococcal vaccine at R97.06 per dose, while Biovac currently supplies the state with a 13-valent vaccine at R288.32 a dose
20 April 2023 - 12:15
The health department has defended its decision to switch its supplier of pneumococcal vaccines from state-backed Biovac to Indian-backed Cipla, saying the move was done to save money. Biovac’s bid price was “at least double” that put forward by Cipla, it said in a statement on Thursday.
Biovac entered into a partnership with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in 2015 to help produce its 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine, in the expectation that the jabs would be purchased by the state...
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