Serum Institute launches India’s first indigenous pneumococcal vaccine

New Delhi: The Serum Institute of India has announced the launch of India’s first indigenously developed pneumococcal vaccine – PNEUMOSIL® in the presence of Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister, Health and Family Welfare.

It has been developed through a collaboration spanning over a decade among Serum Institute of India, PATH and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Driven by the philanthropic commitment of SII to protect every family with affordable vaccines, PNEUMOSIL® comes with the advantage of presence of stereotypes 6A & 19A. The composition of the WHO pre-qualified vaccine is specially tailored as per the prevalence of the Top 10 serotypes of S. pneumoniae in India and other regions of the world, which is the unique feature of this conjugate vaccine. The vaccine will provide effective and long-lasting protection for children against pneumococcal diseases.

Speaking about the launch, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare said, “It is a great moment of pride to witness Serum Institute take forward the ‘Make in India’ legacy, with the launch of India’s first indigenously developed Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine.

Talking about the launch of Pneumosil, Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India shared, “While the vaccine itself is of the highest quality and grade available, vaccine accessibility is of utmost importance as well, and to ensure ease of access by making it available at an affordable price.”

The vaccine makes the Serum Institute of India the world’s third supplier of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) under the pneumococcal Advance Market Commitment (AMC), and the first developing country vaccine manufacturer to access the global PCV market.