Serum Institute CEO, head of world's biggest vaccine maker, says Covid shot production was halted in December
Tons of money, resources and construction projects have been dumped into the production of Covid-19 vaccines, and when the Serum Institute of India stepped up and pledged to provide doses to low- and middle-income countries, it received praise from around the world.
But now, the CEO of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer said Friday that production of the vaccine has been halted since December, when the company’s stockpile hit the 200 million mark.
“I have even offered to give free donations to whoever wanted to take it,” Adar Poonawalla said at the India Economic Conclave Friday, Bloomberg reported.
Poonawalla also blamed the Indian government for the delay in the availability of Covovax, the Serum Covid-19 vaccine, in its home country. The vaccine has been sold in Europe and Australia, but said that the government is taking its time on how to implement the vaccine into its program.
When the number of positive Covid-19 cases skyrocketed in India, the government put a hold on exports of vaccines. That started with the AstraZeneca jab, which Serum collaborated on. Though the ban has been lifted, the country has been stuck with a stockpile. COVAX, the vaccine sharing program, has an option to buy 550 million doses of the shot, but is no longer reliant on Serum as it has looked elsewhere amidst the ban.
India now allows for all those above the age of 18 to get a booster, though Poonawalla called for more expansion.
The past month has seen Serum make moves looking past the pandemic, as it signed a deal with UK-based biotech Wockhardt to create a global vaccine program and build a new facility in North Wales to help build up long-term capacity. It entered a licensing deal with GreenLight Biosciences, a Massachusetts biotech, for three vaccines, including one for shingles. On top of that, Serum’s new drug discovery program has focused on the unmet need for antibacterial drugs that can battle “untreatable superbugs.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in Delhi Friday, talking about the expansion of collaboration between the two countries. He highlighted the work that AstraZeneca and the Serum Institute have done together on the vaccine, and even mentioned that he had the collaborative jab in his own arm right now.
“Which vaccinated more than a billion people against Covid, including, I’m proud to say, me. I have the Indian jab in my arm, and a power of good it did me,” Johnson said. “That has helped India become … the pharmacy of the world.”
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that low-income countries declined 35 million of the AstraZeneca/Serum Institute jabs, in favor of jabs made by J&J, Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, citing a longer shelf life as the reason behind the preference.
