In a major development, Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, has entered into a partnership with Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to accelerate the manufacture and delivery of up to 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine for India and low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) by as early as 2021.
Created in 2000, Gavi is an international organisation, a global Vaccine Alliance, bringing together public and private sectors with the shared goal to improve access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries.
As per pact, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide $150 million in at-risk funds towards helping the Serum Institute to develop the candidate vaccines, including those from AstraZeneca and Novavax, to be priced at USD 3 per dose (around Rs 225). It will be made available in 92 countries in GAVI’s COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), the company said in a statement.
The collaboration, which involves GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance, will provide SII with “upfront capital” through the Foundation’s Strategic Investment Funds.
This is expected to help the vaccine maker increase its manufacturing capacity to produce either or both vaccines “at scale” for distribution.
“Once they receive regulatory approvals and WHO prequalification, the doses are expected to be produced “as early as the first half of 2021”, according to the SII.
The distribution will be done through the COVAX mechanism.
COVAX, co-led by GAVI, as well as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and WHO, aims to discourage bilateral agreements for Covid-19 vaccines and instead aims to improve equitable access. This is done by pooling funds from donor countries to purchase vaccines mainly for lower-and middle-income countries, including GAVI nations like India.
Under the COVAX umbrella, Gavi is leading a COVAX Facility, which is expected to provide Governments with the opportunity to benefit from a “large” portfolio of Covid-19 candidate vaccines developed using a range of technology platforms.
Under the new collaboration, AstraZeneca’s candidate vaccine, if successful, will be available to 57 Gavi-eligible countries. Novavax’s candidate, if successful, will be available to all 92 countries supported by the AMC, according to SII.
Novavax late on Wednesday announced an agreement with SII. The tie-up allows the Indian firm exclusive rights to supply the vaccine in India and non-exclusive rights “during the pandemic period” to supply to countries that are not designated “upper-middle or high-income” by the World Bank.