Brazilian federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into a contract worth 1.6 billion reais ($320 million) for 20 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine made by Bharat Biotech, according to a document seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
The prosecutor-general’s office (PGR) cited comparatively high prices, speedy talks and pending regulatory approvals as red flags for the contract signed in February, before similar deals with Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson.
Bharat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Bharat contract has also drawn scrutiny from a Brazilian Senate inquiry, which called for testimony on Wednesday from the head of Precisa Medicamentos, Bharat’s intermediary in Brasilia.
Justifying the preliminary probe, prosecutors flagged in a document dated June 16 that Precisa’s partners include Global Saude, a company accused of selling but not delivering medicine to the health ministry in a case under investigation by police.
Precisa and Global did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prosecutors questioned why the ministry agreed to buy the Bharat Biotech vaccine, which had not cleared regulatory hurdles, for around $15 per dose: significantly more than what it paid for Pfizer’s vaccine, which had regulatory nod.
“The history of irregularities involving partners at Precisa and elevated price paid for the doses under contract require deep investigation in civil and criminal aspects,” wrote prosecutors.