SON OF A HORSE breeder with a passion for cars — known for his custom-built limousines and sports cars — Cyrus Poonawalla founded Serum Institute of India in 1966 and built it into the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines in terms of doses (about 3.5-4 billion a year). Born in 1941 in a Pune-based family known for its interest in horses and the famous Poonawalla Stud Farms, Poonawalla Group chairman and MD Cyrus Poonawalla and family's wealth shot up from ₹1,62,848 crore ($20.42 billion) in FY22 to ₹2,70,725 crore ($32.95 billion) in FY23, an increase of ₹1,07,877 crore ($12.53 billion).

Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. (SIIPL), led by Cyrus Poonawalla and his son and CEO Adar Poonawalla, was among the first companies in the world to launch a Covid-19 vaccine, Covishield. As a result of his efforts, Cyrus was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in March 2022.

Serum was also among the early partners of the University of Oxford for development and commercialisation of a Covid-19 vaccine. SIIPL teamed up with the university in April 2020 and by January 2021, the Drug Controller General of India granted an emergency-use approval for Covishield vaccine in India. Serum quickly upgraded its facilities at Hadapsar and Manjri in Pune, investing over ₹2,500 crore to help the government launch the world's largest mass vaccination drive. A new subsidiary, Serum Institute Life Sciences (SILS), undertook exclusive marketing and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in the country, while another, Serum Life Sciences, U.K. (SLS U.K.), distributed the vaccines to the rest of the world.

It brought rich dividends to Cyrus Poonawalla and family. SIIPL's standalone revenues shot up from ₹7,201 crore in 2021 to ₹25,645 crore in 2022, while net profit rose from ₹3,891 crore to ₹11,116 crore. "As per provisional standalone financials, SIIPL generated revenue from operations of ₹5,513 crore and operating margin of 43.2% in the first half of fiscal 2023, against revenue from operations of ₹11,836 crore and operating margin of 65.1% in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal," Crisil Ratings said in a report in March.

Serum Institute of India (SII)

Poonawalla Reaps Riches In Vaccine Rollouts