World’s largest vaccine maker sees demand doubling in five years

Serum Institute of India is expanding its production capacity as it expects sales of life-saving vaccines, including those for malaria and cervical cancer, to double in the next five years.

The world’s largest vaccine maker currently has the capacity to produce 3 billion doses of all types of vaccines each year, but only sells about 1.5 billion doses annually. The Pune-based firm is forecasting that will change.

“As countries increase their health-care budgets, you’re going to see a huge uptake of vaccines that can prevent a lot of diseases,” Serum’s Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “Vaccines have been proven to be the most efficient tool for prevention.”