Tata Group’s healthcare company, Tata Medical & Diagnostics (TataMD) is in talks with COVID-19 vaccine makers — Johnson & Johnson (J&J), AstraZeneca for marketing and distribution tie-up.
The company was in talks with Moderna initially and the vaccine maker stated that they cannot supply vaccines until next year. The shortage in production due worker shortage, the company will be able to arrange export only by next year, stated an ET report.
After the company realised Moderna’s position, TataMD decided to approach multiple vaccine manufacturers.
In addition, the company is also looking for a tie-up with Apollo and Max Healthcare to supply medicines, oxygen and other medical supplies.
The company is in talks with 1mg to expand its reach by acquiring the company. The group is in discussion to acquire the company as well.
TataMD is a company launched during the 2020 pandemic. It was to develop, launch and scale the availability of affordable diagnostics to treat COVID-19. The company’s first product is the world’s first commercially available CRISPR Cas-9 based COVID-19 test. It is powered by FELUDA from CSIR-IGIB, a leading Indian biosciences research institute.
In the future, TataMD CHECK diagnostics will be extended to other diseases and medical applications as a comprehensive diagnostic tool. This is where acquisition of 1mg comes into play.
