BMC in talks with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories for Sputnik V vaccine

Civic body disqualifies nine suppliers, who responded to civic body’s tender for vaccine supply, due to lack of necessary documents

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday said that all nine suppliers who had responded to its call for expression of interest (EOI) for supply of COVID-19 vaccines have been disqualified as they did not have the necessary documents. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) P. Velarasu on Friday held talks with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, which had tied up with a Russian company for production and distribution of Sputnik V in India. They have agreed to supply Sputnik V on experimental basis to Mumbai by the end of June. On receiving this, tests on cold storage facility required for storing of the vaccines will be started and once successful, bigger consignments of vaccines will be sent to Mumbai in July and August. The BMC had published an EOI on May 12 seeking supply of COVID-19 vaccines. It then extended the deadline to submit necessary documents first to May 25 and then to June 1. “We were checking on the professional relations between the supplier company and the manufacturer company to ensure supply of vaccines is uninterrupted,” said an official from the BMC.