The Serum Institute is aiming for 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine at first.
New Delhi:
The first batch of 100 million doses for the Oxford coronavirus vaccine produced by India’s Serum Institute should be available by the second or third quarter of 2021, Adar Poonawalla, chief of the Pune-based company told NDTV on Wednesday.
“We are aiming for 100 million available doses at first. This should be available by Q2-Q3 of 2021,” he said.
“Keeping the current progress in mind, I would say that the trial process would end by around end-December, and then we should be able to have a vaccine in January, if all goes well. We have already started the production factoring in its success,” he said.
“If the UK, where advanced trials are being done, shares its data with us and then we apply for an emergency trial with the Health Ministry and they clear it, and we carry out the same tests here in India, then, if successful, we could have a vaccine by mid-December,” he added.
Serum Institute, the world’s largest vaccine maker by number of doses produced, is working on several vaccine candidates for the novel coronavirus – including potentially mass-producing the one from AstraZeneca-Oxford University that has garnered global headlines – as well as developing its own.
More than 150 potential vaccines are being developed and tested globally, with 38 in human trials, and candidates from Moderna Inc, Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca Plc are already in late-stage trials.
