Adar Poonawalla: Need Rs 3,000 crore to scale up Covid-19 vaccine production

The country is currently undergoing a massive vaccination campaign. Currently, the nation has been hit by second wave of coronavirus and once again cases are on the rise and many are calling for a large-scale vaccination campaign.

In such cases it is important to have a large number of vaccines available. Meanwhile, the Serum Institute, which produces the Covishield vaccine, needs Rs 3,000 crore to increase its vaccine production, Pune-based Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla said this on Tuesday.

Earlier, Adar Poonawala had said that he was ready to give the initial 100 million doses at an affordable rate. "The company wanted to make a bigger profit than it does now, so that the money could be reinvested for production and facilities. Also, more doses could have been made available, "said Adar Poonawala.

He commented on this during an exclusive interview with NDTV."We are supplying the vaccine in the Indian market at around Rs 150 to Rs 160. When the cost of making the vaccine is around 20 dollars (approximately Rs 1,500), we are making the vaccine available at a lower price at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

It's not that we're not making a profit. But we don't get much profit which is important in terms of reinvestment, "said Poonawala.