The company is increasing its vaccine manufacturing capacity. (file)
Serum Institute of India expects European drug regulators to approve Covishield – the Covid-19 shot it makes in partnership with AstraZeneca Plc – in a matter of weeks, paving the way for adding it to the region’s ‘green passes’ list is.
Serum’s chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla said at the India Global Forum on Wednesday that the world’s largest vaccine maker is “quite confident” that the European Medicines Agency will approve the shot in a month. Serum has applied through AstraZeneca, he said, and it is “just a matter of time” as the vaccine was approved by the World Health Organization and the UK health care regulator.
The exclusion of serum-manufactured Covishield from the so-called ‘Green Pass’ list, while Vaxazevaria – the European brand name for the same vaccine – as part of the EU’s Vaccine Passport initiative triggered an uproar in India as it restricted entry for Indian was banned. The passengers despite receiving their shots. Nations are racing to vaccinate their populations, completely reopen their economies, and prevent new virus variants from entering their borders.
“It’s not a dispute at all,” Poonawalla said. “The reason it’s flagged is that if we don’t address it now, when India is out of the red list and citizens want to travel, they shouldn’t be denied access to a given country just because He has a Covishield certificate.”
The closely held serum was last year named Covax as the top supplier of Covid shots, a WHO-backed initiative that aims to achieve a similar global roll out. But the company has fallen short of its delivery promise beset by setbacks, including a ban on exports by India after a factory fire that hampered its ability to fill orders.
According to Poonawalla, the company is increasing its vaccine manufacturing capacity and has produced 50 million doses in January to about 90 million in June. The Pune-based firm intends to increase this to 10% in August.
To better prepare for future pandemics, Poonawalla suggested setting up “four or five” vaccine manufacturing centers in different countries, to quickly meet any surge in demand. Long-term contracts – 10- to 15-year agreements – between countries and vaccine makers will also help governments access shots quickly, he said.
Poonawalla said such long-term vaccine agreements could “supply the entire region on priority with the push of a button.”
— In collaboration with PR Sanjay.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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