Looking forward to the Oxford covid vaccine: Serum Institute CEO

Serum Institute of India chief Adar Poonawalla remains optimistic on Oxford covid vaccine as the coronavirus pandemic claimed close to 9 lakh lives across the world. Viewed as a front-runner in the global race to deliver an effective vaccine to combat Covid-19, the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine is now undergoing Phase III clinical trials in Britain, Brazil, South Africa and India.

"Proud and excited for the next few months and looking forward to the vaccine," Poonawalla tweeted.

In his tweet, Poonawalla shared photograph of standing next to the legendary Edward Jenner statue at University of Oxford, along with Professor Adrian Hill. In India, the Oxford covid vaccine is undergoing advanced trials.

Recently, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla was named are among the “emerging leaders" from across the world named by Fortune in its annual list of influential people under the age of 40.

The Serum Institute is the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume. And it has signed an agreement to manufacture the potential vaccine developed by the Jenner Institute of Oxford University in collaboration with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca.

Professor Hill is Director of the Jenner Institute, which focuses on designing and developing vaccines for infectious diseases prevalent in developing countries.

Serum Institute of India has entered into a partnership with Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to accelerate the manufacture and delivery of up to 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for India and low- and middle-income countries.

Serum Institute of India has also entered into a supply and license with US vaccine-maker Novavax Inc for the development and commercialization of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The Indian vaccine maker will have exclusive rights for the vaccine in India during the term of the deal and non-exclusive rights during the “Pandemic Period" in all countries other than those designated by the World Bank as upper-middle or high-income countries.

A new experimental Covid-19 vaccine originating from the University of Oxford has begun human trials in Australia in partnership with the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer.

The shot was devised by SpyBiotech, a U.K. company spun out of Oxford in 2017 by researchers who worked alongside Adrian Hill and Sarah Gilbert at the university’s Jenner Institute. (With Agency Inputs)

Source: liveMint (8th September 2020)