"Board of Directors, in their Meeting held today, have approved the execution of Grant-in-Aid Letter Agreement for grant of INR 600 million (in phased manner) to the Company by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Government of India Enterprise to support COVID vaccine manufacturing under Mission Covid Suraksha," Hester Biosciences said in a statement on Thursday.

Hester Biosciences is part of Gujarat Covid Vaccine Consortium (GCVC), which comprises Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) (a Government of Gujarat undertaking), Hester Biosciences and Omnibrx Biotechnologies.

GCVC, in May 2021, signed a pact with Bharat Biotech International towards contract manufacturing for the drug substance for Covaxin. As per the pact, Bharat Biotech will provide the technology for the production of the drug substance for Covaxin, a COVID-19 vaccine. Covaxin is a registered trade mark of Bharat Biotech.

Hester Biosciences will provide the complete infrastructure at its Gujarat plant for the manufacturing of the drug substance. GBRC will act as an advisor and will facilitate the technology transfer from Bharat Biotech. Lastly, Omnibrx Biotechnologies shall act as a technology support partner.

Hester Biosciences is one of India's leading animal healthcare companies and is the second largest poultry vaccine manufacturer in the country.

The company reported 31% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 8.48 crore on a 2% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 55.69 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21.