India’s vaccine giant faces the huge social responsibility of supply into the domestic market and a contractual demand for export of vaccines to foreign countries.
Bharat Biotech, founded by Krishna Ella and his wife Suchitra, has been at the forefront of making vaccines for a while. Yet it took a global pandemic for the spotlight to shine on the company.
As India battles the second wave of Covid-19, which has caused havoc across the country, healthcare companies have come to the fore as lifesavers, to ensure the attack of the virus is countered.
In a big move, India has opened up Covid-19 vaccinations for all adults. However, the country is beset by severe vaccine shortage and other challenges. Will increasing the demand base work?
The country’s daily requirement is over 10 million doses against the production of 2.9 million. The Sputnik V vaccine, which got the nod on Monday, will help bridge the gap, albeit marginally.
One of the issues with vaccine development is the enormous time required to produce one. The Covid-19 vaccine has shown the process can be expedited. But can the process be made even more faster?
RDIF has tied up with nearly a dozen contract manufacturers with idle capacity to produce some 1.5 billion doses of Sputnik V annually, more than what Serum and Bharat Biotech will jointly produce.
The second phase of the Covid-19 vaccine, which is currently underway, requires the private sector's involvement more than ever before. And the sector is rising up to the challenge.
