Budget 2018-19

  The pledge builds on the collaboration between   Oxford University , AstraZeneca and SII, the world’s largest maker of vaccines Vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII) has pledged 50 million pounds ($66.2 million) to the University of Oxford for setting up a research campus that would also house the institute behind the  AstraZeneca -Oxford COVID-19 shot. The investment was made through the Indian company’s Serum Life Sciences unit, Oxford University said on Wednesday. The research building would be named after Serum’s billionaire owners, the Poonawalla family. The pledge builds on the collaboration between Oxford University, AstraZeneca and SII, the world’s largest maker of vaccines and the producer of a version of the British duo’s COVID-19 shot for low- and middle-income countries. SII has also agreed with the Jenner Institute, which was behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, to produce and develop Jenner’s R21/Matrix-M malaria shot on a large scale. Th...

  When the pandemic ends, it will be with the tremendous assistance of India’s pharmaceutical industry. On April 11, India recorded almost 170,000 Covid-19 cases, a record for the country since the start of the pandemic. The day before, India crossed a different kind of milestone: Vaccinating 100 million people. It is this seesaw of despair and hope that India rides today, battling the outbreak with a healthcare system operating on the brink even as its pharmaceutical industry tries to fill the world’s prescription for vaccine doses. India reached the 100 million vaccination mark in 85 days, faster than the U.S. and China, which took 89 and 102 days respectively. But the task ahead is formidable: the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target of fully vaccinating 300 million individuals by July. The arithmetic alone is daunting. India started with a stock of 100 million vaccine doses at the beginning of the year. Its two manufacturers– Serum Institute of India ...

Ramaphosa said the vaccine would boost the fight against the pandemic South Africa has received the country’s first consignment of 1 million Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccines which arrived from the Serum Institute of India (SII). President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President David Mabuza and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, among other officials, lined up on the tarmac of OR Tambo airport to welcome the vaccine cargo, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. Ramaphosa said the vaccine would boost the fight against the pandemic. “Today marks a major milestone in our fight against the coronavirus pandemic as we receive our first consignment of the   Coronavirus vaccine . This batch will benefit our healthcare workers who have been at the forefront of keeping us all safe,” Ramaphosa said. “We thank all South Africans and all the researchers who have contributed toward ensuring the successful development of the vaccine,” he added. The vaccination program was said to be organised and coo...

The jabs will be administered beginning January 16 Three temperature-controlled trucks filled with Covid-19 vaccine vials pulled out of Serum Institute’s production plant in Pune at 5 a.m on Tuesday, marking the start of a mega immunization drive in the country. The jabs will be administered beginning January 16. The trucks that headed to the Pune Airport were specially designed containers equipped with sensors monitoring location, temperature, light exposure and unusual jolting. The first flight to ship out the vaccine to Delhi was a SpiceJet Boeing-737 carrying 22 boxes. Each box weighing 32 kg contained around 12,000 doses of Covishield vaccines and gel packs- a portable plastic bag filled with refrigerant gel. A GoAir flight to Chennai followed shortly. In all, nine flights transported over 5.6 million doses of the vaccine to 13 cities across the country, prompting civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s office to compare the effort to Hanuman carrying Sanjeevani from the Hima...

  Three temperature-controlled trucks rolled out of the Serum Institute gates shortly before 5 am and left for Pune airport A decisive phase in India’s fight against coronavirus began in the wee hours on Tuesday as the first consignment of Covishield vaccines left Serum Institute of India for Pune airport, four days ahead of the nationwide inoculation drive launch. Three temperature-controlled trucks rolled out of the Serum Institute gates shortly before 5 am and left for Pune airport, from where the vaccines will be flown across India. The trucks carried 478 boxes of the vaccines, each box weighing 32 kg, a source involved in the vaccine transport arrangements told PTI. The trucks left the Serum Institute of India premises at Manjari and reached the airport, located 15 km from the facility. From the airport, the vaccines will be dispatched to 13 locations across the country by 10 am, the source said. A ‘puja’ was performed before the vehicles left the facility. The locations where...

  Bangladesh approved procurement of 30 million doses of Covishield Covid-19 vaccine from India, co-developed by European pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University Bangladesh on Thursday approved procurement of 30 million doses of Covishield COVID-19 vaccine from India, co-developed by European pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University. Bangladesh drug regulator Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) has authorised Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited to import and distribute the COVID-19 vaccine from India. In the initial six months of the first phase, Beximco will procure five million vaccine doses per month, reported Dhaka Tribune. “Beximco pharma can now import and distribute the COVID-19 vaccine from India. It will first supply the vaccine in meeting the government’s requirements. Then it can supply the vaccine to private hospitals approved by the government,” said DGDA Deputy Director Md Salauddin. Earlier on Monday, the government issued a...

  The protection rate, confirmed by Sao Paulo state officials, was derived from Sinovac’s most advanced final-phase trials in Brazil involving about 13,000 participants The vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. was found to be 78% effective against Covid-19 in late-stage trials in Brazil, the most definitive evidence so far on the shot’s efficacy after previous data sparked doubt and confusion. The protection rate, confirmed by Sao Paulo state officials, was derived from  Sinovac ’s most advanced final-phase trials in Brazil involving about 13,000 participants. Coming after data was withheld at a progress update in late December, the rate is still below the roughly 95% effectiveness seen in cutting-edge mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. and being deployed in the U.S. Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine was 78% effective in preventing mild cases of Covid-19 and 100% effective against severe and moderate infections, said Dimas Covas, director of the But...

  The Indian government may be looking to put pressure on Serum to lower its prices, as seen by its controversial decision to greenlight a rival vaccine As major countries like the U.S. and China race to vaccinate their populations with rapidly approved shots, tens of millions of doses prepared for India are sitting in storage despite having been authorized for use. While distribution in other nations started soon after approval with pricing deals signed ahead of time, New Delhi and Serum Institute of India Ltd. — the world’s biggest vaccine maker by volume and AstraZeneca Plc’s local partner — have engaged in months of haggling behind closed doors and are yet to sign a formal supply agreement. That has left at least 70 million vaccine doses in limbo despite the urgent need in a country facing the world’s second-largest outbreak. On Sunday, Serum’s billionaire Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said Indian officials have “orally” agreed to buy 100 million doses at a “special p...

  The media and opposition figures have justifiably asked why Bharat Biotech’s candidate was approved at the same time as AstraZeneca’s, when it hasn’t even finished or published results from Stage III The Indian state faces one of the world’s most formidable challenges: rolling out a Covid-19 vaccination program for 1.3 billion people. To succeed, many things have to go right in a country that usually gets a lot wrong. The government would be wise to enlist the country’s private sector in this gargantuan effort — and soon. The vaccine rollout is already off to a shaky start. The government last week announced emergency approval for two vaccines. The first, a joint effort from AstraZeneca PLC and Oxford University, is being produced by the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. The other has been developed by the Indian company Bharat Biotech International Ltd. The media and opposition figures have justifiably asked why Bharat Biotech’s candidate was ap...