Serum Institute of India Eyes To Market COVID-19 Vaccine By October

Pune: The city-based Serum Institute of India has said it expects to launch the vaccine for COVID-19 developed by Oxford University scientist Sara Gilbert and her team in the Indian market by October or November if its safety and efficacy is established.

The institute has partnered with the Oxford vaccine project as one of the seven global institutions behind manufacturing the vaccine.

“If the vaccine works in the UK trial and we do another trial in India which we are hoping to start shortly, in safety and efficacy, only then will it be available by October or November and that is only if we start producing at our personal cost in risk by the end of this month,” the institute’s chief executive officer, Adar Poonawala, told CNBC-TV18 in an interview on Friday.

Poonawalla further said the institute will be using one of the existing facilities for manufacturing COVID-19 vaccine, “However, it will take over two years to set up new manufacturing facility for COVID-19 vaccine,” he said.

“Typically vaccines take many years but with the regulatory approvals in India that have been very carefully changed for this product development, we are very pleased to announce that we will be able to do it by the end of this year,” he said.

According to the current target, the institute is looking for 4-5 million doses monthly and will start manufacturing early in hopes that vaccine trial will be successful to save time, he said, “So, we hope to build up 20-40 million doses by September-October in the hope that if the trial works, then we will have this product,” he added.