With omicron presenting another challenge, the country is working to be better prepared this time around.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved a proposed deal involving Serum Institute Life Sciences, Covidshield Technologies and Biocon Biologics. Once the deal is complete, Serum Institute Life Sciences Pvt Ltd will have about 15 per cent stake in Biocon Biologics Ltd, according to the notice filed with the regulator. Covidshield Technologies Pvt Ltd (CTPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Serum Institute of Life Sciences, will be merged into Biocon Biologics. In a tweet on Wednesday, the watchdog said it has cleared the "merger by absorption of Covidshield Technologies into Biocon Biologics in consideration for acquisition of approximately 15 per cent equity shareholding of Biocon Biologics by Serum Institute Life Sciences." CTPL was incorporated to undertake the business of marketing, selling and distributing vaccines, drugs and other pharmaceutical products. Biocon Biologics Ltd is a subsidiary of Biocon Ltd. It offers treatment for chronic and acute diseases such as
Country now depends on foreign companies and Serum's product is likely to bring down prices.
Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Monday said he is appealing to multilateral organisations and world leaders to come up with a draft about learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen health systems globally. The learnings from the global pandemic would help in addressing inequity in the health systems that are prevalent currently, Poonawalla said. "This year @Davos, I am appealing to multilateral organisations & world leaders to come together in creating a draft, learning from the lessons of the pandemic for a Global Pandemic Treaty to address inequity & strengthen global health systems," he tweeted. Pune-based SII is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by the number of doses produced and sold globally. During the pandemic, the company not only supplied COVID-19 vaccines in India but also exported these to multiple nations.
The SII, with its Covid-19 vaccines, played a huge role in fighting the Coronavirus pandemic that raged across the world in the past over two years.
SII has sought permission from country's drug regulator to conduct Phase-3 trial to evaluate safety and immunogenicity of its COVID vaccine Covovax as a booster dose in children aged two to 18 years
Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Sunday wooed Elon Musk to invest in India to manufacture Tesla electric cars, saying it will be the best investment he would have ever made.
"A lot of you have asked if Covovax is available for adults. The answer is yes, it is available for everyone above the age of 12," CEO of Serum Institute of India Adar Poonawalla tweeted
A day after its Covid shot Covovax was included on the CoWIN portal for inoculation of children aged 12-17 years at private vaccination centres, the Serum Institute of India (SII) on Tuesday reduced the price of each dose of the vaccine from Rs 900 to Rs 225, excluding taxes. Following recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) the provision of the vaccine option was included on the portal on Monday. On Tuesday, Director for Government and Regulatory Affairs, SII, Prakash Kumar Singh, is learnt to have communicated to the government that the firm is reducing the price of each dose from Rs 900 to Rs 225 plus goods and services tax (GST) for private hospitals. In addition, a private hospital can charge up to Rs 150 as service charge. The price of the vaccine, Covovax, is learnt to have been revised on the CoWIN portal. India's drug regulator had approved Covovax for restricted use in emergency situations in adults on December 28 last year and in t
Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Tuesday said that the Covid-19 vaccine Covovax is now available in India for children.
A senior government official had told Business Standard last week that so far there was no scientific evidence to expand the vaccination programme to young children
A dose of Covovax will cost Rs 900 plus GST, in addition to hospital service charge of Rs 150, official sources told PTI
According to virologist Dr T Jacob John, vaccine fatigue has set in, also because the "cacophony of new experts" has been confusing
The Serum Institute of India has urged the Centre to use the available 10 crore doses of Covishield offered free of cost under COVAX facility in view of rising Covid cases, an official source said.
Serum has cited protectionist measures in other countries that led to a shortage of raw materials as one reason it fell short of vaccine production goals at the height of the pandemic
The government will finalise the sale of state-owned helicopter service provider Pawan Hans this week. More on that story in our top headlines this hour.
He pointed out that there is rising vaccine fatigue among the public as the main reason for the low off-take of the vaccines
All those who are over 18 years of age and have completed nine months after the administration of the second dose are eligible for the precaution dose
SII CEO Adar Poonawalla stated that all across the world, the gap between second dose and booster shot is six month or less
Vaccine majors SII and Bharat Biotech said they have decided to cut prices of precaution dose of their respective Covid-19 vaccines to Rs 225 per shot for private hospitals after discussion with govt