Covid-19 vaccine dose would cost about B1,000

Covid-19 vaccine dose would cost about B1,000

A researcher holds up a sample of the mRNA type candidate vaccine for the coronavirus disease during a news conference at Chulalongkorn University's National Primate Research Centre, in Saraburi, on Monday. (Photo: Reuters)
A researcher holds up a sample of the mRNA type candidate vaccine for the coronavirus disease during a news conference at Chulalongkorn University's National Primate Research Centre, in Saraburi, on Monday. (Photo: Reuters)

The cost of a coronavirus vaccine would be about 1,000 baht per dose if Thai research in the experimental stage leads to mass production, according to the lead researcher.

Kiat Ruxrungtham, director of the Centre of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development at Chulalongkorn University, gave the estimate in an interview broadcast on CU Radio on Sunday. 

“The price is targeted to be no more than 1,000 baht per dose,” Dr Kiat said.

The centre was cooperating with two foreign biotech factories, one of them TriLink in the United States, for the production of the candidate mRNA  vaccine.

The factories had estimated the price of a vaccine dose at US$30, at mass production of 2 million doses, according to Dr Kiat.

“The price of 1,000 baht is possible even after the patent fee is added," he said. "It would be even better if the price goes down.”

A person would need at least two shots of the Covid-19 vaccine. The primary goal was to give all people access to the vaccine, he said.

“We can produce tens of millions of doses in mid-2021, or late 2021, if the vaccine is ready,” he said.

This would depend on the vaccine passing a human trial expected to start later this year, possibly in October or November.

Researchers at the centre on Monday injected a second dose of the vaccine into monkeys that had received a first shot in April. The test started with the vaccination of mice in March.

Dr Kiat said at least three other agencies in Thailand are also conducting tests on possible coronavirus vaccines -- Mahidol University, the National Science and Technology Development Agency, and Bionet Asia, a Thai-French biotech firm.

Thailand reported one new case on Wednesday, a person already in quarantine who had returned from the Philippines.

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