The Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune acquired a 50 per cent stake in SCHOTT Kaisha to become SCHOTT's joint venture partner and secure the pharma packaging supply, the biotech company announced on Tuesday.
SII acquires 50 stake in pharma packaging firm Schott Kaisha
"Securing supply chain is of strategic importance...As a longtime customer, we use their vials, ampoules and syringes to store vaccines, including Covishield" CEO Adar Poonawalla said in his statement.
SCHOTT is a company that is providing glass vials globally to key vaccine manufacturers.
The SII has bought the 50 per cent stake in the Indian joint venture SCHOTT Kaisha from former co-owners Kairus Dadachanji and Shapoor Mistry.
Dr Frank Heinricht, CEO of SCHOTT said, "As India has steadily established its position as a global pharmaceutical hub, we are delighted to strengthen our footprint within the Indian pharma supply chain. We are looking forward to strong impulses from this partnership."
Also Read | Serum Institute joins hands with CII to accelerate vaccination in rural areas
Eric L'Heureux, the new managing director and former longstanding head of operations with the venture said, "We have significantly increased our production capacity in India. Over the last three years, we have invested roughly ₹600 crores to set up two new plants in Gujarat's Umarsadi and Himachal Pradesh's Baddi, and to secure uninterrupted supply in our existing facilities during the pandemic."
{{/usCountry}}Eric L'Heureux, the new managing director and former longstanding head of operations with the venture said, "We have significantly increased our production capacity in India. Over the last three years, we have invested roughly ₹600 crores to set up two new plants in Gujarat's Umarsadi and Himachal Pradesh's Baddi, and to secure uninterrupted supply in our existing facilities during the pandemic."
{{/usCountry}}The fact that SCHOTT has an integrated value chain, covering also the glass tubing the packaging is made of, further helped to secure the supply chain.