Scientists toiling to find a Vaccine
India’s Serum Institute has recently stated that it will be manufacturing Oxford University’s coronavirus vaccine in anticipation of clinical trials that are expected to succeed by September-October. The company is optimistic for starting trials in India for this vaccine over the next 2-3 weeks. The Pune based Serum Institute has partnered with Oxford University as one of the seven global institutions manufacturing the vaccine.
The institute has already collaborated with the scientists at Oxford University for the Malaria vaccine in the past. “Our team has been working closely with Dr. Hill from the Oxford University, and we are expecting to initiate production of the vaccine in 2-3 weeks and produce 5 million doses per month for the first 6 months, following which we hope to scale up production to 10 million doses per month,” said Dr. Adar Poonawala, CEO of SII.
Trials to be started in India
The company has planned to initiate trials in India for the vaccine with necessary regulatory approvals, which are presently underway. Keeping the current situation in the mind, the company is looking to scale up the vaccine production. As building a new facility for COVID-19 vaccine could take around 2-3 years, the vaccines will be manufactured at the company’s facility in Pune. The regulatory authorities in India are also working with the company to ensure smooth procedural functioning.
The company had earlier said it will not patent any COVID-19 vaccine if it develops one. “ We will not patent Serum’s vaccine for COVID-19 and will make it available for all to produce and sell, not just in India but across the world,” said Mr. Poonawala. “Whoever makes and develops the vaccine will need multiple partners to manufacture the vaccine,” he added.
