Emily Schmall and Karan Deep Singh, The New York Times
Published: 08 May 2021 10:52 AM BdST
Updated: 08 May 2021 10:52 AM BdST FILE Adar Poonawalla, chief executive of the Serum Institute, in Pune, India, July 10, 2020. Poonawalla has acknowledged that the Serum Institute alone doesn’t have the capacity to vaccinate India anytime soon, much less shoulder the burden of inoculating the world’s poor, pledges he made earlier in the pandemic. (Atul Loke/The New York Times)
Adar Poonawalla made big promises. The 40-year-old chief of the world’s largest vaccine maker pledged to take a leading role in the global effort to inoculate the poor against COVID-19. His India-based empire signed deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars to make and export doses to suffering countries.
Synopsis Poonawalla defended his company and its ambitions. He had no choice but to hand over vaccines to the government, he said. He cited a lack of raw materials, which he has partially blamed on the United States. Making vaccines, he said, is a painstaking process that requires investment and major risks. He said he would return to India when he had finished his business in London.
AP
Poonawalla took the reins of the Serum Institute a decade ago from his father, Cyrus, a horse breeder turned vaccine billionaire.
Adar Poonawalla made big promises. The 40-year-old chief of the world’s largest vaccine maker pledged to take a leading role in the global effort to inoculate the poor against COVID-19. His India-based empire signed deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars to make and export doses to suffering countries.
New Delhi: Adar Poonawalla made big promises. The 40-year-old chief of the world’s largest vaccine maker pledged to take a leading role in the global effort to inoculate the poor against COVID-19. His India-based empire signed deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars to make and export doses to suffering countries.
Those promises have fallen apart. India, engulfed in a coronavirus second wave, is laying claim to his vaccines. Other countries and aid groups are now racing to find scarce doses elsewhere.
At home, politicians and the public have castigated Poonawalla and his company, the Serum Institute of India, for raising prices mid-pandemic. Serum has had production problems that have kept it from expanding output at a time when India needs every dose. He has come under criticism for departing to London amid the crisis, though he said it was only a quick trip. He told a British newspaper he had received threats from politicians and some of India’s “most powerful men,” d
Adar Poonawalla made big promises. The 40-year-old chief of the world’s largest vaccine maker pledged to take a leading role in the global effort to inoculate the poor against Covid-19. His India-based empire signed deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars to make and export doses to suffering countries. Those promises have fallen apart. India, engulfed in a coronavirus second wave, is laying claim to his vaccines. Other countries and aid groups are now racing to find scarce doses elsewhere. At home, politicians and the public have castigated Mr. Poonawalla and his company, the Serum Institute of India, for raising prices mid-pandemic. Serum has suffered production problems that have kept it from expanding output at a time when India needs every dose. He has come under criticism for departing to London amid the crisis, though he said it was only a quick trip. He told a British newspaper he had received threats from politicians and some of India’s “most powerful men,”
“Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives,” it read.
“We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives.
“We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”
I find the “space and privacy” part interesting, since Gates has made it clear that he feels like you and I have no rights to either.