Amid Monkeypox Worry, What Adar Poonawalla Said On Making Vaccine

Amid worries over four monkeypox cases in India, vaccine-maker Adar Poonawalla said today that the Serum Institute of India is spending its own funds to import a few million doses of a Danish smallpox vaccine which can be used to treat cases if there is a larger breakout of the infection in India.

The initial consignment of the small pox vaccine, manufactured by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic, could be here in a few months once a contract is signed.

"We are talking to them...That's a decision the government of India will eventually have to make with the experts - should we, like other nations, start stockpiling a small quantity, just a few million doses of the vaccine. I am prepared to import it at risk at my cost, initially, in small volumes. Eventually, the government will have to decide on a health policy," Mr Poonawalla said.

The Serum Institute of India would also be in a position to eventually procure the vaccine in bulk quantities should it be required before bottling it and marketing it around the world while ensuring that India's requirements are met.

"In an emergency situation, we could always do the full finish of the product made by that company. That would give access to Indians without safety issues - since the vaccine is time-tested. To make it from scratch will take some time. Bulk supply should be adequate to handle," Mr Poonawalla said. 

There have not been any formal talks with the government of India yet on the large-scale supply of the smallpox vaccine since only a handful of Monkeypox cases have been reported in India so far. While no costs have been decided yet, Mr Poonawalla says the drug will be made as affordable as possible.  

At the same time, the Serum Institute is exploring the development of a new Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine for monkeypox along with Novavax, one of its global partners.  

In theory, he said, it could take more than a year to make a vaccine from scratch.  

"As a vaccine manufacturer equipped with technological knowhow, we are looking at talking to partners. We are talking to Novovax. We really need to see whether there will be a lot of demand or whether in three to four months it fizzles out," Mr Poonawalla said.

He said it was "not a mystery" that monkeypox cases were coming up. "It has been around for decades," he said. The only difference was that the global health system was more trained and equipped to detect and tackle infectious diseases.

The Serum Institute manufacturers Covishield, the Indian version of the Oxford-Astrazeneca Covid vaccine in addition to host of other life-saving vaccines which it exports around the world.