Not without India: World's pharmacy gears up for vaccine race

Snowman Logistics

10/12/2020 10:00

By Abhirup Roy, Euan Rocha and Krishna N. Das
    PUNE, India/NEW DELHI, Dec 10 (Reuters) - India, the world's
biggest vaccine maker, is getting set for the massive global
blitz to contain the coronavirus pandemic with its
pharmaceutical industry and partners freeing up capacity and
accelerating investments even without firm purchase orders. 
    India manufactures more than 60% of all vaccines sold across
the globe, and while its $40 billion pharmaceutical sector is 
not yet involved in the production of the expensive Pfizer Inc
 PFE.N  and Moderna  MRNA.O  shots, the nation will play a
pivotal role in immunizing much of the world.
    Indian companies are set to produce eight, more affordable
vaccines designed to fight COVID-19, including AstraZeneca's
 AZN.L  Covishield, called the "vaccine for the world https://in.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-astrazeneca/astrazeneca-says-covid-19-vaccine-for-the-world-can-be-90-effective-idINKBN2830HC
" by its developers.
    For a FACTBOX on vaccines to be made in India click
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2IN293
    "There are many vaccines being produced in countries around
the world but there's only one nation that has the manufacturing
capacity to produce sufficient quantities to satisfy the demands
of citizens in every country, and that's India," said
Australia's ambassador to India, Barry O'Farrell, after touring
vaccine manufacturing sites in India with many other diplomats.
    Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest vaccine
maker, has already stockpiled more than 50 million doses of the
AstraZeneca shot, even as it awaits emergency-use approvals from
both British and Indian authorities.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2IP0XB
    SII plans to make a total of 400 million doses of Covishield
by July and is setting up new production lines to roll out
roughly one billion shots a year.
    Pharmaceutical packager Schott Kaisha, meanwhile, is
stepping up production of vaccine vials and Deutsche Post's
 DPWGn.DE  DHL is working out how best to distribute the shots
within the country and around the world.
    "Because of the large volumes coming out of India and of
course the affordable vaccines, there is no other country that
will contribute more towards ending the pandemic than India,"
SII CEO Adar Poonawalla told Reuters at the company's sprawling
campus in the western city of Pune. Here, automated machines
fill and seal thousands of vials with the AstraZeneca shot every
hour before they are moved to a vast, high-ceiling cold room.
    But much of India's vaccine production could be, at least
initially, for domestic use.
    With nearly 10 million infections, the world's
second-highest after the United States, India's government is
likely to order a huge chunk of the vaccines for its 1.3 billion
people.
    
    CALCULATED RISK
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has yet to specify how much
India will require, but his government has said some vaccines
may be approved in the next few weeks and that it was "committed
to partnering with all interested countries in vaccine-related
efforts".  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2IO3HE urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2IO0RE
    Poonawalla said he expects to sell hundreds of millions of
doses at home. Even as immediate local demand is met, nearly
half of its production would go overseas, the company has said.
    India's Bharat Biotech, which has also sought emergency
approval for its government-backed vaccine candidate, is in
discussions with more than 10 countries in South America, Asia
and Eastern Europe to sell its product.
    Russia, meanwhile, has signed deals with Indian companies to
make the country the production and export hub for its Sputnik V
vaccine, starting with more than 100 million doses a
year. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2HR1QL
    Many companies in India's vaccine supply chain are laying
out investments without deals in hand.
    "We've taken a calculated risk," said Rishad Dadachanji, a
director at Schott Kaisha that is in supply talks with around 10
vaccine makers at home and abroad.
    It is increasing its annual manufacturing capacity by 300
million to 1.5 billion vials by November.
    Executives at rival firms SGD Pharma India and Piramal Glass
said they were expanding their production base, or re-allocating
manufacturing lines to focus on vials.
    SGD plans to add 100 million units to its current capacity
of 350 million glass vials, while Piramal says it can double its
specialised vial capacity at just a month's notice "to meet any
unforeseen demand."
    
    SYRINGES AND COLD STORAGE
    Others that are likely to benefit from an expected surge in
demand are: pharmaceutical firms Dr Reddy's Laboratories
 REDY.NS , Cadila Healthcare  CADI.NS  and Hetero; logistics
company FedEx  FDX.N ; cold chain storage specialist Snowman
Logistics  SNOW.NS  and Hindustan Syringes & Medical Devices,
among others.
    Hindustan Syringes says it will increase capacity by 42% to
1 billion units by the first half of next year. It has already
shipped some 140 million syringes that disable themselves after
one use for the global vaccine distribution program COVAX.
    But because the Indian government has not yet signed any
contracts with vaccine suppliers, some ancillary companies have
been left guessing what kind of products they should prepare for
as specifications may vary from vaccine to vaccine.
    Vial maker SGD's managing director, Sardar Akshay Singh,
warned that a last-minute rush to secure vaccines for India
could hit exports - similar to the way officials stalled
shipments of masks and sanitizers early in the pandemic to meet
local demand.
    "We have been feeding the government a lot of information
but they've not come up with a plan so far," said Sunil Nair,
CEO of India's biggest cold chain operator, Snowman.
    The company's ongoing expansion will nevertheless double its
vaccine handling capacity to 200 million doses by March.
    It operates some 500 trucks fitted with containers
refrigerated by Carrier Global  CARR.N , has vendors on standby
if more are required, and says it can deliver vaccines from
production site to inoculation centres within hours thanks to
its countrywide reach.
    SII, which also has COVID vaccine tie-ups with U.S. biotech
firm Codagenix, Novavax  NVAX.O  and Austria's Themis, has
scaled back production of shots for other diseases and is
readying more cold rooms, buying more trucks and hiring more
workers.
    For DHL, the world's largest courier and logistics company,
vaccine transportation work has already begun in India. It
recently brought in Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for trials and
says it will play a crucial role in exporting vaccines, and
distributing them within the country.
    "The next 12-24 months are going to be significantly
exciting and there's going to be a lot of capacity issues, but I
think it's a positive headache to have," DHL Express India head
R.S. Subramanian said.

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 (Reporting by Abhirup Roy, Euan Rocha, Krishna N. Das, Devjyot
Ghoshal; Additional reporting by Sumit Khanna and Aftab Ahmed;
Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
 ((Krishna.Das@tr.com; +91 987111 8314;))