Adar Poonawalla puts $250 million on COVID vaccine 'gamble', reveals what his father said

CEO of Serum Institute of India, ar Poonawalla recently spoke about gamble his company is making amid unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. Indian billionaire, whose family-owned firm makes more vaccines a year than any or company across globe, has put around $250 million of his family’s fortune in a bid to ramp up manufacturing capacity to one billion doses through 2021. 

According to Washington Post, Poonawalla said that he “decided to go all out”. He said that his far, who was among initial sceptics, also told him that it is his money and if he wants to blow it up, he is fine with it. 

39-year-old has me a bet with global repercussions. Amid quest for an effective vaccine, India is poised to play a critical role in supplying developing world, which is starting race with a distinct disvant. Countries, including UK, Japan and Cana, have alrey struck deals large eugh to vaccinate entire populations. By contrast, a pooled global effort to distribute vaccines equitably to more than 150 countries has secured only 700 million doses.

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Serum Institute’s role in vaccine production  

Indian vaccine makers, which is led by Serum Institute, w plays a very important role. Pune-based institute is largest manufacturer in world by volume. Earlier this year, US top health expert Anthony Fauci h also said that Indian’s manufacturing capability is “going to be very, very important” as effective vaccines emerge. 

Major pharmaceutical companies - AstraZeneca, vavax, Johnson & Johnson and Safi - have alrey reached an agreement to produce at least three billion vaccine doses for low and middle-income countries and Serum Institute is set to manufacture more than two-thirds of those doses. ditionally, WHO backed initiative, kwn as COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, or Covax, is being led by Gavi and in September n-profit vaccine alliance anunced a partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to pay Serum Institute in vance for 200 million vaccine doses, at a cost of $3 each, to be distributed in developing countries, hopefully in early 2021. 

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$600 million infusions will help Pune-based institute ramp up production. Poonawalla said that Gavi and Gates Foundation “want to assure vaccine supply at an affordable price”. However, 39-year-old aims to cover some of his costs. “At least my risk is taken away so I can sleep at night,” he said. 

partnership with Serum is crucial to Gavi’s larger goal of ensuring that country is left behind in quest for vaccines. Under agreement, over 60 countries would receive vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca or vaccine under development by vavax. Moreover, Serum Institute has struck deals to manufacture both vaccines, which are alrey in Phase 3 trials. It has also signed deals to make two or vaccines, developed by American biotechlogy company Codnix and Britain's SpyBiotech, and is working on its own vaccine candidate that it hopes will enter trials late next year.

Serum Institute has diverted capacity from existing vaccines and started work on a new production facility to be completed next year at its hequarters in Pune. CEO of company said that his firm has pledged to keep half of vaccines it makes for use within India. He is also optimistic that in 2021, a new coronavirus vaccine will be licensed for public use every couple of months. "That's good news," Poonawalla said. 

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