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.
The pharmaceutical company added “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.
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.
