Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla has highlighted some of the biggest challenges in vaccine manufacturing, especially during health emergencies and pandemics, during an exclusive interview with Firstpost.
“Vaccine manufacturing has its own share of challenges, from regulatory approvals, sourcing of raw materials, robust infrastructure and logistics seamlessly supporting these operations, to the final product, everything needs to be addressed,” he said.
Pune-based SII manufactured the Covishield vaccine against Covid under a licensing agreement with British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
AstraZeneca this month cited a surplus of newer vaccine options as the primary reason while announcing a global withdrawal of its Covid vaccine, which was marketed under the brand names Covishield and Vaxzevria, and was developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford. Many Indians who had been inoculated with Covishield during the Covid pandemic expressed concerns, as days earlier AstraZeneca, for the first time, admitted in a court that its Covid-19 vaccine, may have led to a rare, deadly side effect: Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS).
SII, which is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced and sold globally, though had stopped the production of Covishield as early as December 2021, citing low demand.
One of the most critical challenges, Poonawalla told Firstpost, is to build a robust infrastructure that provides a seamless management of all these operations.
He also spoke about the team behind manufacturing a vaccine. “SII has a team of highly qualified and motivated professionals as part of our core R&D (research and development) group. Our R&D efforts focus on developing vaccines tailored to the specific needs of different segments of the population (India and worldwide) as well as improving the methods of vaccine delivery,” Poonawalla added.
SII has also developed and manufactured India’s first indigenously developed vaccine Cervavac for the prevention of cervical cancer.
Cervavac, which is India’s first indigenous quadrivalent, gender-neutral vaccine, is affordable and accessible compared to other vaccines that are available in the market, the SII CEO said.
“SII acknowledges the significant burden of cervical cancer in India and recognises its crucial role in combating this issue through vaccination. We not only underscore the importance of early vaccination but also strive to educate and empower communities,” he said.
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