Serum Institute to Manufacture 200 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses for Low-Income Countries

The Serum Institute of India (SII) has announced it will produce up to 100 million additional COVID-19 vaccine doses through its collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to supply India and lower income nations.

The partnership, which was announced in August, initially agreed to produce 100 million doses of AstraZeneca’s and Novavax’s vaccine candidates for distribution in India and low- and middle-income countries.

The collaboration will now work to provide a total of 200 million doses that will cost a maximum of $3 apiece, and the Gates Foundation is providing an additional $150 million to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance toward those efforts.

SII has undertaken massive manufacturing deals during the pandemic in an effort to help supply COVID-19 vaccines, including agreements with AstraZeneca, Novavax and Codagenix (DID, Sept. 23). — James Miessler