NEW DELHI, 07 APR – The Serum Institute of India, the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world, has asked the Indian government for funding of approximately $ 408 million to rapidly increase its production capacity. CEO Adar Poonawalla said this last night in an interview with the Delhi television network NDTV. “We are not at a loss, but the government’s request to prioritize domestic supplies and suspend those to foreign countries for two months has wiped out the profits.” The company sells a dose to the Indian government at the agreed price of 170 rupees, just over two euros, while the price for foreign buyers is much higher Poonawalla explained that the serum Institute already produces a minimum of 2 million doses. per day but intends to make a substantial investment to expand capacity over the next three months. Poonawala added that if the government does not give the funding, the Serum Institute will ask the banks for the loan. “We will continue to give priority to India, we will provide a dose for each Indian”, he repeated, “but we also want to honor the contracts to have Covishlied as soon as possible, (this is the name in India of the vaccine developed by Astra Zeneca ) to all other countries, and deliver the 2 million doses commissioned by Covax, the WHO program for poor countries ”(ANSA).
(ANSA)
