Serum Institute join hands with Bill Gates Foundation to ramp up COVID-19 vaccines in India

Pune, Aug 8: The Pune-based Serum Institute of India has entered into a new landmark partnership with Gavi and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This cames to accelerate the production of the COVID-19 vaccine up to 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for India and other low and middle-income countries.

 

 

 

“I would like to thank Bill Gates, Gates Foundation, and GaviSeth for this key partnership of risk-sharing and manufacturing of 100 million doses, which will also ensure equitable access at an affordable price to many countries around the world,” Adar Poonawalla, CEO and Owner, Serum Institute of India tweeted.

 

 

According to the statement the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, via its Strategic Investment Fund, will provide at-risk funding of US$150 million to Gavi, which will be used to support the SII to manufacture the potential vaccine candidates. The collaboration will provide upfront capital to SII to help them increase manufacturing capacity now so that, once a vaccine, or vaccines, gains regulatory approval and WHO prequalification, doses can be produced at scale for distribution to India and LMIC as part of the Gavi COVAX AMC mechanism as early as the first half of 2021.

 

The funding will support at-risk manufacturing by SII for candidate vaccines from AstraZeneca and Novavax, which will be available for procurement if they are successful in attaining full licensure and WHO Prequalification. SII has set an affordable ceiling price of US$ 3 per dose. The arrangement also provides an option to secure additional doses if the vaccines pillar of the ACT Accelerator sees a need for it. These two deals can help guarantee access to early doses for the most vulnerable on a truly global scale.

 

"In an attempt to make our fight against COVID-19 stronger and all-embracing; SII has partnered with Gavi and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance the manufacturing and delivery of up to 100 million doses of future COVID vaccines for India and low and middle-income countries in 2021,” said Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India.

 

The rampant spread of the virus has rendered the entire world in an unimaginable halt of uncertainty. And to ensure maximum immunization coverage and contain the pandemic, it is important to make sure that the most remote and poorest countries of the world have access to affordable cure and preventive measures. Through this association, we seek to ramp up our constant efforts to save the lives of millions of people from this dreadful disease, he further added.

 

The country’s drug regulator—the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had earlier granted permission to the Serum Institute to conduct phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials on the potential vaccine for the viral infection.