India’s pharma industry capable of producing COVID vaccines for entire world: Bill Gates

NEW DELHI: Stating that India joined Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which is a group working on a global basis to build vaccines platforms, Bill Gates, Co-founder, Microsoft, said that India’s pharmaceutical industry will be able to develop vaccines for COVID-19 not only for India but also for the entire world. He said that this is what is required to bring down the mortality rate, make sure people are immune and how the pandemic can be ended. 

Gates added that some “very important things have been done” in India and its pharmaceutical industry works “to help make the coronavirus vaccine, building on other great capacities that they have used for other diseases”. In a documentary titled ‘COVID-19: India’s War Against the Virus’, which premiered on Discovery Plus on Thursday, July 16, Gates made a statement that India is still at the beginning of this and it faces tremendous challenges due to the COVID-19 crisis. He stated that it is because of their giant scale and urban settings with a high population density and a lot of people moving around, which is driving the spread. He added that despite these obstacles, people are stepping up, helping each other, making sure that food and required equipment are available.

While commenting on the strength of India’s pharma industry, Gates said that India has a lot of potential – with drug and vaccine companies which are major suppliers worldwide. He mentioned that more vaccines are manufactured in India than elsewhere, starting with the Serum Institute, which is the biggest manufacturer of vaccines. He further said that others like the Biological E Limited (Bio E), Bharat Biotech International, and many more, who are working to help make the coronavirus vaccine and expand on the capacity they have used for other diseases.

Gates said Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also a “partner with the government, particularly with the department of biotechnology, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). He highlighted the Foundation’s role by mentioning that they have worked for the Indian Government over the last ten years on health issues such as the introduction of new vaccines, so when COVID-19 came along, they stepped in and funded work on detection and isolation. Particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the foundation has been quite active and has done health delivery in the past. He added that the foundation is also working with the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, to take their training platforms online and with that knowledge help their frontline health workers.