New Delhi, 21/10:Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Pune-based Serum Institute of India, said on Thursday that his company has spent Rs 10,000 crore for the production and distribution of the Kovishield vaccine. Poonawalla also said that handling public scrutiny and accountability was one of the biggest challenges for him. Poonawalla also said that his company is preparing another Kovid-19 vaccine, Kovovax, which was selected for children for various reasons and may get approval by February next year.
In an exclusive interview with CNBC TV-18, Poonawalla said, “We bet on the partnership with AstraZeneca. We didn’t know exactly which vaccine would work. We have seen massive issues with other manufacturers.. We’ve had a great job with AstraZeneca-Oxford. We are in talks with some companies for fill and finish. Fill-finish can be done with multiple partners. Kovovax can be filled at Biocon or at our facility.”
Waiting for the order of the central government
Poonawalla said that his firm is waiting for orders from the central government to export the Kovid vaccine worldwide. Poonawalla said, “The government has ordered 20 crore doses of Kovishield for every month till December. By the end of October, we may resume some exports. We are currently waiting for the instructions of the Central Government looking at the stocks.