Serum Institute of India, Unicef enter deal

United Nations: The Serum Institute of India (SII) and Unicef have entered into a long-term supply agreement for the AstraZeneca/ Oxford and the Novavax vaccines, with the UN children's agency saying it will have access to up to 1.1 billion doses of vaccines for around 100 countries.

India is one of the world's biggest drugmakers, and an increasing number of countries have already approached it for procuring the coronavirus vaccines. While Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield is being manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute, and the Novavax is being produced by US-based Novavax Inc.

"Today we are pleased to announce the conclusion of a long-term supply agreement with the Serum Institute of India for Covid-19 vaccines, to access two vaccine products through technology transfer from ASTRAZENECA and NOVAVAX," the United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Henrietta Fore said.

Fore added that UNICEF, along with its procurement partners including Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), will have access to up to 1.1 billion doses of vaccines for around 100 countries, for approximately USD 3 a dose for the low- and lower middle-income countries.

"This is great value for COVAX donors and a strong demonstration of one of the fundamental principles of COVAX - that by pooling our resources we can negotiate in bulk for the best possible deals," she said.