Pune, September 29: Serum Institute of India (SII) on Tuesday announced to produce additional 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in 2021. The addition doses of vaccine will be produced for India and middle-income countries. The pharmaceutical company would get a further $150 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the GAVI vaccines alliance, reported Reuters. COVID-19 Vaccine: Adar Poonawalla Says Modi Government Will Take Care of All Needs of Every Indian Day After His Question on Financial Resources

The SII said, "Announcement takes forward the collaboration between SII, Gavi, Vaccine Alliance and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation." The expansion follows August's announcement of up to 100 million doses to be delivered by the collaboration, the SII added. The company is currently manufacturing 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine "Covishield" in partnership with Astrazeneca and Oxford.

Tweet by Serum Institute of India: 

Pune based Pharmaceutical Company has partnered with AstraZeneca and Novavax for production of COVID-19 vaccines. The funding will help accelerate the manufacturing by SII for candidate vaccines. These vaccines will be available for procurement if they are successful in attaining full licensure and WHO Prequalification. COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Will Modi Govt Have 'Rs 80,000 Crore in Next One Year' to Buy and Distribute Doses? Adar Poonawalla Asks.

The vaccines will have a ceiling price of US$3 per dose, a price enabled by investments made by partners such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and SII. Novavax's candidate, if successful, will be available to all 92 countries supported by the Gavi COVAX AMC.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 29, 2020 02:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).