Adar Poonawalla thanks Biden, Jaishankar for US policy change, says vaccine production will increase

The move of the US administration will increase the supply of raw materials globally and to India, Adar Poonawalla said. Jaishankar said Indian diplomacy is focussed on securing the vaccine supply chain.

Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla on Friday thanked the US government and India's foreign minister S Jaishankar as the US lifted restrictions from AstraZeneca, Novavax and Sanofi. The move will "hopefully increase the supply of raw materials globally and to India; boosting our vaccine production capacity and strengthening our united fight against this pandemic," Poonawalla tweeted.

FILE PHOTO: Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Serum Institute of India poses for a picture at the Serum Institute of India, Pune, India, 30 November 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas (REUTERS)

Indian diplomacy is focussed on securing the vaccine supply chain, the minister of external affairs tweeted, responding to Poonawalla's tweet.

"While the manufacturers will continue to make these three vaccines, this action will allow U.S.-based companies that supply these vaccine manufacturers to make their own decisions on which orders to fulfil first," the White House statement said.

Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine producer, has tied up with AstraZeneca and is producing the Oxford vaccine, known as Covishield in India. It has also conducted trials in India and will also supply Covishield to World Health Organization's vaccine alliance Covax. Serum has also an agreement with Novavax and will produce its vaccine under the name Covavax.

Earlier, Adar Poonawalla raised the issue of US restriction on the export of raw material required for vaccine production. The restrictions were put in place in February and the US defended the restriction on the export of key raw materials saying it needs to cater to the need of the American people first.