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Odisha extends deadline for its global tender for Covid-19 vaccines
The notification by Odisha State Medical Corporation Ltd (OSMCL) said the bid submission date has been extended till June 4.
Odisha government on Friday extended the deadline of the global tender floated for procurement of Covid-19 vaccines by a week in view of requests from many prospective vendors, cyclone Yaas and also for greater participation, as per an official state notification.
The notification by Odisha State Medical Corporation Ltd (OSMCL), which floated the tender for procurement of 3.80 crores of Covid-19 vaccine doses on May 14 to inoculate its 18-44 population, said the bid submission date has been extended till June 4. The technical bid will open at 11.30 am and the price bid by 5 pm on that day.
The bids have been invited from the world’s leading vaccine manufacturers and they have been offered advance payment of 30 per cent of the value of each purchase order. The OSMCL expects 75 lakh doses in 30 days of the purchase order, 2.25 crore doses within 60 days, 3.75 crore doses by 90 days and 3.8 crore doses by 120 days.
To facilitate the participation of vaccine manufacturers, the state government recently revised storage conditions up to minus 20 degree Celsius, subject to the condition that the vaccines will remain stable and maintain their potency at 2 degree Celsius to 8 degree Celsius for at least 12 hours.
Though it was previously stipulated that 50 per cent of the total tender quantity would be allocated to the lowest bidder and the balance 50 per cent to be split among the second, third and fourth lowest bidders and so on at negotiated rates, the revised terms and conditions allows a potential bidder to apply for any quantity.
The OSMCL has offered advance payment of 30 per cent of the value of each purchase order. It expects 75 lakh doses in 30 days of the purchase order, 2.25 crore doses within 60 days, 3.75 crore doses by 90 days and 3.8 crore doses by 120 days.
Odisha’s additional chief secretary of health PK Mohapatra said it would be difficult to tell how many companies have bid for Odisha’s global tender so far as the NIC portal does not allow that.
Odisha’s global tender comes in the wake of the failure of Maharashtra in getting any response from original vaccine manufacturers for its similar offers. While Maharashtra received responses from eight companies, none of them are vaccine manufacturers.
Doubts are being expressed over Odisha getting any offer from vaccine manufacturers as existing ones like the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech are struggling to supply vaccines to the Centre. Meanwhile, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, which would distribute Sputnik V vaccines in India, said it has not authorised any third party to supply the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine on its behalf in India.
“Dr Reddy’s Laboratories is the brand custodian of the Sputnik V vaccine in India and has the sole distribution rights of the first 250 million doses (first and second dose components included) of the vaccine in India,” the pharma major and Russian Direct Investment Fund(RDIF) said in a joint statement.
Till May 28, Odisha managed to vaccinate 74,99,728 people, around 20 per cent of its total number of people who are eligible for vaccination. Odisha has now 9.66 lakh doses of vaccines left.
