Cyrus Poonawalla, Adar Poonawalla and Serum Institute
Living in a strange time with masks, social distancing, lockdown, all these has seemingly become a part of our lives. A slight solution has come up from the world’s largest vaccine producer, the India-based company Serum Institute of India.
Rise of Serum Institute
In 1946 Soli Poonawalla had started a farm with only a dozen horses. Around 7 decades later the farm became India’s largest stud farm. In the 1960’s Soli Poonwalla’s son Cyrus Poonwalla wanted to start a new business of his own. A chance of his meeting with an animal doctor gave the young Cyrus an idea of producing vaccines. To create vaccines a serum extracted from the blood of a horse was used.
On 12 June 1966 Soli Poonwalla laid the foundation stone for his son’s new venture. It was named Serum Institute and located in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India. In just two years the company began producing anti-tetanus vaccines. Serum Institute went on to develop snake bite antidote polio, flu shots, and many others. Serum Institute emerged as the largest vaccine manufacturer in India in 1990.
Soon after the company started exporting vaccines all over the world including United Nations agencies and UNICEF. Today over five decades later Serum Institute has grown to become the world’s largest vaccine producer. Around 65% of children in the world have been given at least one vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute. Internationally the company also owns the Dutch vaccine maker Bilthoven Biologicals. The company started creating an intranasal swine flu vaccine in 2009 with Bilthoven Biologicals. With support from US-based MassBiologics of University of Massachusetts Medical School, the Serum Institute of India developed a fast-acting anti-rabies agent, Rabies Human Monoclonal Antibody (rDNA), even called Rabishield in 2016.
The coronavirus pandemic has directed the gaze of the world to the SII. Being an unlisted private Indian pharmaceutical company, they are currently producing AstraZeneca’s vaccine. It is reported that Serum Institute would provide 100 million (10 crores) COVID-19 vaccines for India and other low and middle-income countries. The goal was later increased to 1 billion doses by the end of 2021. It is approximated to be priced at ₹225 (around $3) per dose.
About Cyrus Poonawalla
The chairman of the prestigious Poonawalla Group, Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, was born in Pune. He is a person who has always had a point of view about creating an atmosphere where high-quality vaccines are available for inexpensive prices.
International agencies have cooperated with him in his cause of creating vaccines against Meningococcal A, H1N1 Influenza, Rotavirus and other diseases.
Dr. Poonawalla with a net worth of $6.2 Billion has declared as the 10th richest person in India at 73. He became the 286th richest person in the world by Forbes Magazine. In 2005, Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He was also a recipient of Padma Shri and received it from the President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam for his involvement in the field of medicine in the same year and has gained many other achievements.
About Adar Poonawalla
Cyrus Poonawalla was privileged to have a son from his late wife Mrs. Villoo Poonawalla. She died at the age of 67 in June 2010. He was named Adar Poonawalla. Adar Poonawalla was born on 14 January 1981. He is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Serum Institute of India. Adar Poonawalla stepped into the Serum Institute of India in 2001. He was a graduate of the University of Westminster in London.
Poonawalla exported its products to 35 countries, he focused on the company’s international market. He aimed at gaining new products licensed and pre-qualified by the World Health Organization, for supply to United Nations Agencies comprising UNICEF and PAHO. He became the CEO of Serum Institute who fully controlled the daily operations of the company in 2011. In 2012, he played a vital role in the acquisition of a Netherlands-based government vaccine manufacturing company. Poonawalla was also allied as a board member of the global Vaccine Alliance.
In 2014, he began and launched Serum Institute’s Oral Polio Vaccine. It took a global shortage of Polio vaccines at that time. Every year plans to launch a new vaccine for public health. It was stated that he also planned to increase the product portfolio to include vaccines for flu, dengue, and cervical cancer in 2014.
He has achieved many business and philanthropy awards from Economic Times, CNBC TV18, Hurun and many others.
As well, other than business the Poonawalla family has constructed gardens, schools, a leprosy center, and a hospital in Pune. The family has guaranteed Rs 100 crore for waste management projects in Pune. After witnessing the fascinating journey which began from a scenic stud farm to the world’s biggest vaccine makers that can now produce a massive over 1.5 billion doses in a year.
