COVID-19 vaccine: Serum Institute to make additional 100 million 'safe & effective' doses

Serum Institute of India, on September 29, announced that it would procure up to an additional 100 million COVID-19 vaccines doses for India and other low-and-middle-income countries next year. In a press release, the institute said that it would get a further $150 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the GAVI vaccines alliance to deliver a total of 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccines. 

The recent announcement further builds upon an initial agreement signed in August by the company with the GAVI Alliance and the Gates Foundation. The latest collaboration also brings the total of funding provided to Serum Institute of India to $300 million. The company informed that the agreement also provides an option to secure additional doses if the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator sees a need for it. 

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The CEO of the Institute, Adar Poonawalla, in a statement said, “The collaboration further bolsters up our fight against COVID-19. Through the avid support of Gavi and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we will now manufacture and deliver up to an additional 100 million doses of immunogenic and safe-proven future COVID-19 vaccines to India and low- and middle-income countries in 2021”. 

He added, “At this stage, It is important for governments, global health and financial institutions in the public and private sector to come together in ensuring that no one is left behind in the road to recovery. This association is In line with our efforts to see that the future vaccines reach the remotest part of the world providing full immunization coverage in a bid to contain the spread of the pandemic”. 

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Ceiling price of $3 per dose 

According to the press note, the funding will help accelerate the manufacturing by SII for candidate vaccines licensed from AstraZeneca and Novavax, which will be available for procurement if they are successful in attaining full licensure and WHO Prequalification. Further, the vaccines will also have a ceiling price of $3 per dose, which is a price enabled by investments made by partners. 

Serum Insitute of India is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by the number of doses produced and sold globally which about more than 1.3 billion doses. Vaccines manufactured by Serum are certified by the World Health Organization, Geneva and are being used in approximately 170 countries across the globe. Earlier this month, the company also received the DCGI’s nod for resuming the Phase-3 trials of the ‘Covishield’ vaccine. 

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