After a bitter war of words, India's two leading vaccine makers - Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech International Ltd called a truce on Tuesday and assured a smooth roll out of Covid-19 vaccines in the country.
On Tuesday, Serum Institute Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla and Bharat Biotech Chairman and Managing Director Krishna Ella, in a joint statement communicated their “combined intent to develop, manufacture and supply” the Covid-19 vaccines for India and globally.
After the two vaccines were formally cleared, SII CEO Poonawalla had commented: “There are only three vaccines in the world who have proven efficacy... Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca, these are the only three vaccines which have been proven to work. Everything else has been proven to be safe, just like water...”
To this Bharat Biotech's Ella had reacted sharply saying: “Despite doing one of the largest ever trials conducted in India and probably, also in the developing world, we are facing backlash.”
However, now things seem to have sorted out. “The more important task in front of us is saving the lives and livelihoods of populations in India and the world. Vaccines are a global public health good and they have the power to save lives and accelerate the return to economic normalcy at the earliest,” Poonawalla and Ella said in the joint statement.
Now that two Covid-19 vaccines have been issued emergency use authorisation in India, the focus is on manufacturing, supply and distribution, such that people who need it the most receive high quality, safe and efficacious vaccines, it added.
“Both our Companies are fully engaged in this activity and consider it our duty to the nation and the world at large to ensure a smooth rollout of vaccines. Each of our companies continue their Covid-19 vaccines development activities as planned. We are fully aware of the importance of vaccines for people and countries alike, we hereby communicate our joint pledge to provide global access for our Covid-19 vaccines,” it said.
On Sunday, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had granted approval of "restricted use during emergency situation" for Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield that is manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's Covaxin – in what came as a big ray of hope in battling the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the globe.