Poonawalla added that the pledge had exceeded the capacity of other vaccine manufacturers (Representative image: Reuters)
The Serum Institute has partnered with five international pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca and Novavax, to develop a vaccine and has pledged to manufacture 1 billion doses, of which it has promised 50% to India.
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- Last update: September 14, 2020 2:46 PM IST
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Reducing hopes for a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of the year, the CEO of the world’s largest vaccine maker has said that the proper coronavirus vaccine will not be available for everyone in the world to be immunized until the end of 2024. In An interview With the Financial Times, Adar Poonawalla, executive director of the Serum Institute of India, said that pharmaceutical companies were not increasing production capacity quickly to be able to inoculate the world population in less time.
“It’s going to take four to five years for everyone on this planet to get the vaccine,” Poonawalla said. Poonawala had previously predicted that if the coronavirus vaccine is a two-dose vaccine, as is the case for measles or rotavirus, then the world would need 15 billion doses.
The family-run Serum Institute, which is located in Pune, has partnered with five international pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca and Novavax, to develop a coronavirus vaccine and has pledged to manufacture 1 billion doses, of which it promised to 50% to India. The company may also partner with Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute to produce the Sputnik vaccine.
Poonawalla’s observations on vaccine production and distribution are crucial, as the Serum Institute will take on the job of manufacturing injections for most of the developing world. Furthermore, his remarks have heightened skepticism about claims by political leaders who have pledged vaccines for the next month amid concerns that huge pre-orders from Europe and the US will result in countries in development are at the bottom of the list.
Poonawalla added that the commitment had exceeded the capacity of other vaccine manufacturers. “I know the world wants to be optimistic about it. . .[but]I haven’t heard of anyone who comes close to that [level] right now, ”he told the publication.
As part of its agreement with AstraZeneca, the firm will seek to produce doses of the Covid-19 vaccine at a fixed cost of $ 3 for 68 countries and under its agreement with Novavax, for 92 countries.
Poonawalla, who is the son of Cyrus Poonawalla, India’s seventh-richest billionaire, downplayed the risks of suspending the AstraZeneca lawsuits last week after one participant fell off saying, describing it as “very normal.” “We are doing a. . . raise and dilute capital so that we have enough capital to manage the raw materials and equipment that we need in the next one or two years to operate at this scale, ”he told FT.
Poonawalla had ordered 600m glass vials in April and other details to prepare for the mass manufacturing of the Covid-19 vaccine. However, he expressed concern about the distribution in India, which is witnessing a rapid increase in the number of coronavirus infections, and said the process would be difficult as there is no sophisticated cold chain system to transport the vaccine safely. safe to your 1.4. one billion people.
“I still don’t see a proper plan on paper to do that [in India] beyond the 400 million doses, ”he said.
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