India to play a huge role when effective vaccine is ready, says Anthony Fauci

On Thursday, Anthony Fauci, director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the US, said India’s position as the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer.

On Thursday, Anthony Fauci, director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the US, said India’s position as the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume will play a crucial role when an effective vaccine is developed globally. The US government has been monitoring the efforts of Indian companies in Developing vaccine through its 30-year-old partnership with India’s Department of Biotechnology.

At the International Symposium on vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic, hosted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Fauci said, “India’s private sector also has a very important role in being the world’s leading manufacturer of vaccines. As effective COVID-19 vaccines emerge from our research effort, this manufacturing capability is going to be very important.”

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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and India’s Biotechnology Department have had a partnership of over 30 years through the Indo-US Vaccine Action Plan (VAP), Fauci added.

“Three weeks ago, VAP convened an expert advisory committee to review COVID-19 vaccine research and development in India. Eleven vaccines were reviewed by a panel that provided recommendations for how these candidates might be further developed and assessed, and we look forward to continuing this involvement and supporting the vaccine R&D efforts,” said Fauci.

Currently, there are seven companies developing various vaccine candidates in India. Serum Institute of India is the largest vaccine manufacturer’s in the world by volume. It has partnered with AstraZeneca plc to produce about 1 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine.