Serum Institute of India has claimed that it would receive $150 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the GAVI vaccines alliance to make 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for India and other emerging economies as early as 2021. The company aims to deliver 2 billion doses of approved and effective COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021.
The candidate vaccines, including those from AstraZeneca and Novavax, will be priced at $3 (Rs 225) per dose and will be made available in 92 countries in GAVI's COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), the company said in a statement.
The Gates Foundation will provide the funds to GAVI, which will be used to support Serum Institute.
GAVI is a public-private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization in poor countries.
It co-leads COVAX - a scheme designed to guarantee fast and equitable access globally to COVID-19 vaccines - along with the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
