New Delhi: Serum Institute of India which has partnered with Oxford University and AstraZeneca for the coronavirus vaccine has said that the company has already started preparation for manufacturing the vaccine. Oxford University has recently published its findings from phase 1 trials of its vaccine. In the results published in The Lancet medical journal, it said that 'vaccine AZD1222 had a favorable response in the first phase of clinical trials. It did not prompt any serious side effects and elicited antibody and T-cell immune responses.'

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The University is collaborating with the pharma company AstraZeneca for manufacturing the vaccine. The company is also responsible for making this vaccine globally available if the vaccine passes the phases of trials. AstraZeneca has partnered with nine companies across the globe and is planning to produce 2 billion doses once the vaccine is ready to be rolled out. Pune-based Serum Institute has also been chosen to manufacture the vaccine once it gets ready. Serum Institute has also announced that it is going to begin trials of the Oxford University vaccine in India after it procures a license.

"We are making this application within the next 48 hours to the Drug Controller General of India's office. They will probably take about 1-2 weeks on what kind of study and trial we will have to do," Poonawalla said, speaking to CNBC-TV-18 news channel.

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But even though the vaccine is yet to complete the final trial or phase 3 stage, the pharma company has already started preparing for manufacturing the vaccine.  According to a report by PTI, the company has already produced around 2-3 million doses of the vaccine for testing the processes and stabilising its machinery. These will not be available for human use. The report also says that the company will manufacture up to 70 million doses of the vaccine per month up to October, and plans to take it up to 100 million per month by December so that it is ready to hit the market once the final approvals are in place.

Adar Poonawalla,CEO of Serum Institute has said that although the final approval of the vaccine is expected by the end of the year the company is still putting USD 200 million at risk by manufacturing nearly 300 million doses before that.

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"If you look at the process right now, the risk of the opex (operating expenditure) which we are putting in is more than USD 200 million. If this vaccine fails, we will be down (by) USD 200 million," said Poonawalla in the report adding the expenses exclude the opportunity cost of using the same facility for some other purpose. He also said if everything goes according to the plan then the phase three trials will take two months and the vaccine will get a final nod by November. In such a case the vaccine can get introduced either in "quarter one or two" of next year.

In an interview with India Today, Poonawalla also said that the company is planning to  put the price of the vaccine  at around Rs 1,000 or less and that an 'individual will not have to pay for it because the vaccines will mostly be bought by governments and then distributed free through the immunisation programmes.'