Moderna, the American pharma and biotech giant,  is planning to launch a single-dose vaccine for the Indian market only in 2022 as it has no surplus vaccines in 2021, media reports said.

The company is in talks with Cipla and other Indian companies to launch its single-dose in India, media reports added.

Cipla has expressed interest in launching the 50 million vaccine doses, which Moderna said it can offer India in 2022 and sought confirmation from the government in respect of stability in regulatory requirements/policy regime, said media reports.

Two rounds of high-level meetings were chaired by the Cabinet Secretary on vaccine availability in the domestic and global markets to address the urgent need to procure vaccine doses as the coronavirus infection continues to spread and the gap between the demand and supply of shots widens.

The meeting which had officials from the Ministry of External Affairs, NITI Aayog, Department of Biotechnology, Law Ministry and Health Ministry discussed Moderna's single-dose offer and possible agreements with Cipla and other companies in India for the launch.

The Health Ministry has been asked to look into Cipla's request in connection with the support required for them for sourcing the Moderna vaccines.

Meanwhile, another US drug major Pfizer has offered 50 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to India albeit with pre-conditions including significant regulatory relaxations in India including indemnification, according to the media reports.

The development comes at a time when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is in the United States for a five-day official visit.

The Indian government had refused to provide Pfizer legal protection from any adverse effects that may follow after the use of its jabs and requirement for local safety trials.

Since the Modi government is now mulling to enlist all COVID-19 jabs approved in the UK, USA, Japan and by the WHO for a fast-track approval, Pfizer could find entry in India, which is one of the biggest markets in the world.