Serum Institute of India (SII) would require around ₹3,000 crore to ramp up production capacity for making vaccines for COVID-19, its CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Tuesday.
"We need roughly ₹3,000 crores which is not a small figure considering we have already spent thousands of crores. We have to find other innovative ways to build our capacity so we can support our nation in light of COVID surge," Mr Poonawalla said in an interview to NDTV tweeted by the channel.
The company hopes to increase its capacity of Covishield to 110 million doses per month from June onwards, he added.
ADVERTISEMENT
The company is producing 2 million doses per day, Mr Poonawalla said.
"We have delivered over 100 million doses to India alone and exported around 60 million doses to other countries," he added.
Serum Institute along with other vaccine producers have agreed with the government to sacrifice profits. There is no vaccine industry on the planet that has agreed to provide vaccines at such a subsidised price, he added.
ADVERTISEMENT
In another interview to ET NOW, Mr Poonawalla said that Serum Institute is prioritising temporarily needs of India before others.
The company currently has capacity to produce 60 to 70 million doses per month, he said.
The vaccine industry has sacrificed millions of dollars to support the nation, he added.