Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Covid: How this Indian firm is vaccinating the world

Covid: How this Indian firm is vaccinating the world

As pharmaceutical giants ramp-up production in the race to vaccinate the world, one firm has shot into the lead.

The Serum Institute of India (SII) isn't a household name, but it's the world's largest vaccine maker.

The firm churns out 1.5 billion doses every year from the company's vast manufacturing plant in Pune, Western India.

It is currently making Covid vaccines under license for pharmaceutical firms such as AstraZeneca.

"We took a huge calculated risk", by betting on several vaccines in 2020 before regulators had even approved of them, SII's chief executive Adar Poonawalla told the BBC.

"It wasn't a blind risk, because we knew the Oxford scientists from our earlier collaboration with the malaria vaccine."

SII is privately owned, which enabled fast decision-making between Mr Poonawalla and his scientists.

But funding proved a challenge. The firm invested around $260m (£186.7m) and raised the rest from philanthropists, such as Bill Gates, and advances from other countries.

SII managed to secure $800m by May 2020 to make multiple Covid vaccines.

Stashing away doses


How did SII actually scale up production? In April 2020, Mr Poonawalla calculated what they would need, from vials and filters.

SII is involved the world's largest inoculation programme in India

"I got 600 million doses worth of glass vials ahead of time and locked it in my warehouse by September," he explained.

"The most important part that enabled us to have so many doses - 70-80 million in January - was because I started manufacturing at risk in August."

"I wish other companies also had taken that risk, because the world would have had many more doses."

Mr Poonawalla criticised the patchwork of global regulatory systems and lack of harmonisation for production delays.

He said the major regulators, including the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), could have united and agreed a quality standard.

He also criticised national governments, claiming that regulators in the countries that are making the vaccines, from India to Europe, could have united to agree a standard international benchmark.

SII managed to secure $800m by May 2020 to make multiple Covid vaccines
"Why can't we still harmonise it and save all this time, especially even for the new vaccines. I'd hate to have to go through all this again."
New variants


Mr Poonawalla played down concerns about new variants: "Anyone who has taken that [Oxford AstraZeneca] vaccine so far hasn't had to go to hospital or go on a ventilator and had their life at risk.

"They've also passed that disease on to others. So yes, it's not an ideal situation, but it has protected your life."

In India, SII is also involved the world's largest inoculation programme, to vaccinate 300 million by August. But, according to Bloomberg, only 56% of people eligible to get a shot have actually stepped forward.

"A lot of vaccine hesitancy traditionally has come about when either celebrities or non-experts have said vaccines are not safe," said Mr Poonawalla.

"I always just request celebrities and others who have this tremendous power on the social networks, to just be a bit responsible and read up on the facts before they say anything."


'That was a huge calculated risk'


Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×