Serum Institute of India CEO: ‘We plan to make millions of doses of Covid vaccine over three months’

Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla speaks to The Indian Express about their efforts to develop Covid-19 vaccines

4 min readUpdated: Jul 22, 2020 07:58 AM IST

Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla

Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by the number of doses produced and sold globally (more than 1.5 billion doses), has partnered with AstraZeneca to support efforts for a vaccine against Covid-19. It has also got the DCGI go-ahead to manufacture its own indigenously developed pneumococcal vaccine. Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla speaks to Anuradha Mascarenhas about their efforts to develop these vaccines.

How long will it take for a vaccine against Covid-19 to be made available?

It will be a long time before everyone gets a vaccine because of the number of doses that needs to be administered. This includes challenges in administering the doses in all parts of the world and it may not necessarily mean that the first vaccine that is licensed is the best one. There are many different scientific approaches being taken to make the Covid-19 vaccine and we will have to wait and see which is the best vaccine to be given to the world.

Serum Institute has partnered with British drugmaker AstraZeneca to support Oxford University’s efforts for a vaccine against Covid-19. How promising are the results of clinical trials and what are the plans at Serum Institute?

Among the leading vaccine candidates is the AstraZeneca product, to which Serum has committed hundreds of millions of dollars. We would not have done that if we did not believe in the AstraZeneca vaccine. Regarding the AstraZeneca product, an announcement will be made in two to three days. We should wait for that and then comment on the phase 1 trials they have conducted. I cannot comment on the amount of doses we have made so far, but we plan to make millions of doses over the next three months after we get the manufacturing license. We have committed hundreds of millions of dollars in Capex and Opex to start producing the vaccine.

VPM1002, which is also produced by Serum Institute, is part of clinical trials to assess if these anti-TB shots can be a gamechanger in the fight against Covid. What is the present status?

The VPM BCG vaccine for TB is undergoing clinical trials. More than 1,000 patients have been vaccinated and in two months we will know whether it significantly reduces the severity of Covid or not.

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Serum Institute has become the first to manufacture an indigenously developed pneumococcal vaccine. Earlier the demand was met by licensed importers. How long did the process take?

This is a pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine that took five years to develop and conduct multi-centric global trials before it was licensed. This is typically how long vaccines take. The vaccine is used for active immunization against invasive disease and pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumonia in infants. The DCGI looked at the evidence from human trials to allow the first fully indigenously developed Pneumococcal Polysacch-aride Conjugate Vaccine for marketing in India. Serum Institute had first obtained the approval of DCGI to conduct Phase I, Phase II and Phase III clinical trials of the vaccine which were concluded. After reviewing clinical data, on July 14 SII was granted permission to manufacture the first domestically developed pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine.

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According to WHO, pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children worldwide. How many doses will India require?

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India requires 70-80 million doses. Initially in the private market there will be demand for 10 million doses, for which there are other players like Pfizer, GSK, and there are government tenders which will probably procure 50-60 million doses over the next two to three years. There is also a global demand of another 100 million doses that we will slowly try to fill over the next two to three years.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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