'Won't Make Money Off COVID-19,' Serum India Says It Won't Patent Coronavirus Vaccine
Serum Institute of India has gone on record to say that when it develops the vaccine for the novel Coronavirus it will not patent it Expected latest by 2021 and with no patent Serums vaccine for COVID-19 will be available for all to produce and sell not just in India but anywhere in the world.
Several pharmaceutical companies are in the pursuit of COVID-19 vaccine around the globe. India¡¯s own vaccine major Serum Institute of India is one of them.
In an announcement nothing short of philanthropic, Serum India has gone on record to say that when it develops the vaccine for the novel Coronavirus, it will not patent it.
(Representative Image: Reuters)
Expected latest by 2021 and with no patent, Serum¡¯s vaccine for COVID-19 will be available for all to produce and sell, not just in India but anywhere in the world. The idea behind this was shared by Serum Institute India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Thursday, according to a PTI report.
Poonawalla affirmed that as and when the vaccine is developed (by anyone), the producer will need to partner with multiple firms to manufacture it to ensure its availability across the world.
"Whosoever makes and develops the vaccine will need multiple partners to manufacture the vaccine. I hope that whichever company develops the vaccine will not hide behind patents and makes it available even on royalties or some commercial understanding to as many manufacturers across the world to make billions of dosages very quickly,¡± Poonawalla was quoted by PTI.
No patent on Coronavirus vaccine
Following on those steps, Serum India will not be patenting its vaccine so as to make it readily available as well, which should be great news for not just India but the rest of the world.
Poonawalla cleared, "I can speak for my company, SII. We are not going to patent this product and we will make it available to as many people as we can to manufacture this drug because we don't want to make money from and commercialise something beyond a sustainable level in such a public health epidemic.¡±
(Representative Image: Reuters)
As per Poonawalla, the fact that Serum is a private limited company will help the company follow this decision. Had it been a publicly listed firm, they might have to be accountable to shareholders for such a step.
As for the vaccine, Poonawalla confirmed that the company is currently conducting animal trials with mice and primates and will be hoping to start clinical trials with humans in India by next month.
"By 2021, at the very latest, we should have a vaccine against COVID-19 from SII," Poonawalla said.
As mentioned earlier, Serum is just one of the entities working on a vaccine or a treatment for the novel Coronavirus. A total of 70 Coronavirus vaccines are being developed globally out of which, three are under human trials. You can read all about them here.
