1. Serum Institute of India

22 July 2013 | Features | By BioSpectrum Bureau

1. Serum Institute of India

Chairman and managing director : Dr Cyrus Poonawalla

Chairman and managing director : Dr Cyrus Poonawalla

One new vaccine per year goal

A lot of Serum's success story stems from the vision of Dr Poonawalla who foresaw the need to build manufacturing sites with larger capacities in anticipation of higher demand. Senior officials state that SII today has broadened its market reach as its current capacities exceed the requirements of UN agencies.
SII also has set an ambitious goal of launching one vaccine per year, for the next few years. A major project at SII has been the Rotavirus vaccine, which is currently in Phase III trials. A stand alone Pneumococcal vaccine and a Vero cell rabies vaccine are in the late stages of development as well. The first to come out in the market will probably be the Vero cell rabies vaccine followed by the Rotavirus and Pneumococcal vaccines.
SII bagged major orders for its pentavalent vaccines, Pentavac, which was administered in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. SII's brand of measles (M-Vac), MMR (Tresivac), TT and quadravalent (SII Q Vac) vaccines too were supplied in large quantities. SII also joined the oral polio vaccine list of manufacturers in 2013. This decision was made after UN agencies anticipated a shortage in OPV doses.
While staying focused on vaccines, SII also ventured into the biopharmaceutical arena, with the launch of its own brand of erythropoetin (EPO). A separate dedicated facility for bipharmaceuticals is currently being used for the same and it is being expanded to allow large scale manufacturing of other products as well. SII is also researching the production of monoclonal antibodies, which it hopes to launch in the next two years.
In July 2012, SII made its first overseas acquisition with Dutch biologics company Bilthoven Biologicals. "This acquisition will significantly strengthen our position in the global vaccines market, while giving us access to the technology and production facility of Injectable Polio Vaccine (Salk), which is the only logical solution available to the world for the eradication of polio," said Dr Poonawalla. Currently at SII, the global eradication of polio is an important prerogative. With the impending adoption of the next phase of the Global program for Polio eradication, this could prove to be a game changer.

Company : Serum Institute of India
Business : Vaccines and biopharmaceuticals
Revenue: 2013 `2,374 crore

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