Serum Institute to beat pharma giants with polio vaccine

He is known for his collection of luxury cars and his stud farms, but Cyrus Poonawala has an entirely different horse in mind when it comes to his Rs 1,700-crore vaccine firm, Serum Institute. CNBC-TV18's Archana Shukla finds out Poonawala’s strategy that is winning him accolades in the world of vaccines.

"We will be the largest, not only in numbers, but also in the number of children vaccinated. We will go beyond Sanofi in 2013 with the polio portfolio that will be filled soon," said Cyrus Poonawalla, CMD, Serum Institute.
That's where the recent acquisition of Dutch firm Bilthoven Biologics comes in. Serum Institute now has the capacity to add the WHO-recommended injectible polio vaccine to its portfolio and that gives it a platform to take on the giants of the pharma world.
"We did not expect to make huge profits from this acquisition. It is a window for Serum Institure to see the next decade of growth by making an entry into the US and EU markets and take the complete portfolio of the polio vaccine," explained Cyrus Poonawalla.
Serum Institute also expects to double its revenues this year thanks to UN and WHO agencies choosing its measles and Penta-Valent vaccines based on both quality and pricing. In addition, Serum Institute expects to bag orders worth USD 500 million annually from the Global Allaince For Vaccination and Immunisation (GAVI), which is in charge of sourcing vaccines for underserved regions.
With the failure of its attempts to diversify into pharmaceuticals, the firm decided to concentrate on its area of expertise – Vaccines. And the first item on the agenda is to reduce dependence on government orders. So Serum Institute is busy developing vaccines like the one against rabies, for the open market.