Brazil probes vaccine contract with India’s Bharat Biotech

Brazilian federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into a contract worth 1.6 billion reals ($320m) for 20 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine made by India’s Bharat Biotech, according to a document seen by Reuters. The prosecutor-general’s office (PGR) cited comparatively high prices, speedy talks and pending regulatory approvals as red flags for the Bharat contract signed in February, before similar deals with Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson. 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.