Serum Institute: We Will Produce Coronavirus Vaccine in Three Weeks
The Serum Institute announced that it intends to begin mass production of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University in two to three weeks, and if clinical trials on humans in October prove positive, it will bring the vaccine to market.
Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute, said his team is working in close collaboration with Dr. Adrian Hill’s team at Oxford University. He expressed hope that after starting production of this vaccine, output in the first six months will reach five million doses and then 10 million doses per month.
He recalled that the institute has previously collaborated with Oxford University on a malaria vaccine production project and can definitely say that they are “among the best scientists” in the world.
Poonawalla continued: “We hope that this vaccine will reach the market in September-October; of course, only if clinical trials are successful and the vaccine has the necessary safety standards and we are assured of its effectiveness.”
According to him, clinical trials of this vaccine in India will likely begin in two to three weeks.
Poonawalla said the company has accepted this risk out of responsibility to save time, and has decided to proceed with mass production of the vaccine simultaneously with the trials so that vaccine distribution can begin as soon as the trials are successful.
According to him, the Serum Institute maintains regular contact with India’s Medical Research Council to ensure the quality of this product. The company also does not intend to patent its invention to claim exclusive rights, so that the vaccine will be available not only in India but in other parts of the world for production and sale.
The CEO of the Serum Institute has asked other vaccine manufacturers to refrain from patenting exclusive rights to their products so that other manufacturers worldwide can, based on commercial understanding, produce billions of doses of coronavirus vaccine in a short period of time.
Source: DW
