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Pune, Jul 7 () Vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII) is hoping to develop a COVID-19 vaccine by the year-end as it is focusing on a "good and safe" product and is not in a "rush", the company's CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Tuesday. He was speaking during the launch of 'Compact XL, a compact diagnostics machine by MyLab Discovery Solutions, that will automate lab processes from sample handling to preparing RT-PCR tubes. Replying to a question about the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, Poonawalla said that by the end of 2020, the SII is hoping to have a vaccine. "End of the year, we are hoping to have a vaccine. So we will discuss once of the phase three trials for the product come about. Recently, there was news about another vaccine candidate which was being rushed. We do not want to rush anything. We want to emphasis on safety and efficacy... and once we are confident of good and safe vaccine, we will announce but that is still six months away from now," said Adar. He further said that till the vaccine comes, testing is the key and that is why SII has invested in MyLabs. "If you test, isolate and segregate, we can manage the situation till the good cure or vaccine comes around," said Adar. SII has invested over Rs 100 crore in MyLabs, a Pune-based molecular diagnostics firm. Poonawalla lamented that India is not testing enough and added that Indian test manufacturers including MyLabs are picking up the production capacity. "There is a fear that what will happen if the number of positive patients increases. I would like to say that there is no harm if the number increases as it will help us detect people," he added. Poonawalla also sought permission to allow export of the test kits. "We have enough capacity in manufacturing testing kits. MyLab can produce 2 million kits per week and there is no that much demand in India so allow us to export and we have enough buffer stock for India readily available if there is more outbreak," he said adding they are waiting for the government's blessings. SPK GK MR

Serum Institute of India expects COVID vaccine by year-end

<ul><li>The <keyword id="95879" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Serum-Institute-of-India">Serum Institute of India</keyword> (SII) hopes the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine will be available in Indian markets by the end of the year. </li><li>Last month, SII signed a deal with AstraZeneca to exclusively manufacture the Oxford vaccine for India.</li><li>SII CEO Adar Poonawalla told The Tribune that the vaccine is currently in Phase II of clinical trials. </li></ul>The Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, which is reportedly safe for people with weak immunity, may be available in the market by the end of the year, according to the Serum Institute of India (SII) — the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. SII CEO Adar Poonawalla told <a href="https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/oxford-vaccine-by-yr-end-partner-firm-107843">The Tribune</a> that clinical trials of the vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford — called AstraZeneca — have progressed to Phase III. “I hope that AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine will be available towards the end of the year,” he said based on the results highlighting that more than a 100 vaccine candidates are currently at different stages of clinical trials. Last month, on June 13, SII signed the deal with AstraZeneca to exclusively manufacture for India and countries in the Gavi Vaccine Alliance. SII will supply one billion doses for low and middle-income countries, with a commitment to provide <a href="https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2020/astrazeneca-takes-next-steps-towards-broad-and-equitable-access-to-oxford-universitys-covid-19-vaccine.html">400 million doses</a> before the end of 2020. Safe for people with weak immunity Professor Saraf Gilbert from Oxford University’s Nuffield Department of Medicine recently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/oxford-covid-19-vaccine-safe-for-people-with-weak-immunity/articleshow/76728237.cms">told ambassadors of UN member states</a> that the vaccine is safe even for people with a weak immune system. “Because it is still a live virus, it is good at inducing a strong immune response after vaccination,” she said. According to AstraZeneca, the vaccine may not work but the company is progressing the clinical programme with speed and scaling up manufacturing despite the risk. 5,000 volunteers have begun participating in Brazil’s first clinical trials of the Oxford vaccine. “We plan to start production in nearly two months and have invested more than $100 on this facility,” Poonawalla told the Tribune. If the risk pays off, Poonawalla promises the vaccine will be affordable. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/an-indian-covid-19-vaccine-made-by-bharat-biotech-is-set-to-enter-human-trials/articleshow/76702286.cms">An Indian COVID-19 vaccine made by Bharat Biotech is set to enter human trials</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/oxford-covid-19-vaccine-safe-for-people-with-weak-immunity/articleshow/76728237.cms">Oxford COVID-19 vaccine safe for people with weak immunity says Oxford Professor Sarah Gilbert</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/potential-covid-19-vaccine-by-zydus-cadila-gets-dcgi-nod-for-human-clinical-trials/articleshow/76762771.cms">Potential COVID-19 vaccine by Zydus Cadila gets DCGI nod for human clinical trials</a>

Oxford COVID-19 vaccine may hit the Indian market by the end of the year if successful, says CEO of world’s largest vaccine manufacturer

Mumbai, Feb 27 () Pune-based billionaire businessman Adar Poonawalla of the Serum Institute has invested Rs 12 crore in independent cookie brand Sweetish House Mafia. The funding is part of the pre-series A round of the company started by Aakash Sethi and Neha Sethi, MBA holders from Massachusetts University and Wharton Business School, respectively. The funds will be used for aggressive expansion in current markets and to enter newer cities, besides expanding the product line, the founders told on Thursday. The funds will also be deployed for newer business vertical and e-commerce platform, they added. Claiming to be the city's first home-grown cookie brand, Sweetish House Mafia was founded in 2013. It initially sold cookies on a car to customers on the move in Mumbai. Some of its popular products include its signature Nutella sea salt, double chocolate chip and classic chocolate chip cookie. It also sells cookie shakes, cookie sundaes and plain milk cookies. The cookies are available across Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Kolkata. The company will be entering seven more cities, including New Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chennai. BEN RVK

Adar Poonawalla invests Rs 12 cr in cookie brand Sweetish House Mafia

New Delhi, Apr 2 () Pune-based molecular diagnostics firm Mylab Discovery Solutions on Thursday said it has partnered with Serum India CEO Adar Poonawalla and AP Globale Chairman Abhijit Pawar to scale up the operations and escalate faster delivery of its COVID-19 testing kits.The test kit by the company was the first 'Made in India' kit to receive commercial approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSC), and is named as Mylab PathoDetect COVID-19 Qualitative PCR kit, it had earlier said. Funds invested will be used for scaling production of COVID-19 testing kits and expansion of molecular diagnostic solutions, Mylab said in a statement.However, the company did not share financial details of the deals.Commenting on the development, Poonawalla said: "In the next few weeks we will be ramping up the production of the Covid-19 testing kits taking from 1.5 lakh tests/week to 20 lakh tests/week".The shortage of testing kits will come to an end in a month or two, he added."Mylab and its team have shown exceptionally innovative capabilities when they were able to develop a time-saving testing kit within 6-weeks of its outbreak...The investment towards Mylab will enable them to build their infrastructure and expand their capabilities further," Poonawalla said.Global innovation is the need of the hour to curb this pandemic that has affected millions across the world, he added."This partnership will ensure we do our bit to help in this time of crisis," Pawar said.Emphasising the importance of the partnership, Mylab Discovery Solutions MD Hasmukh Rawal said: "This partnership can impact billions of people across the world, especially India".Mylab's COVID-19 test kit screens and detects the infection within 2.5 hours as compared with over 7 hours taken by current protocols, the company had earlier said.Biotechnology firm Mylab Discovery Solutions Pvt Ltd offers a wide spectrum of molecular diagnostics solutions, developed in-house by its R&amp;D team in Pune. AKT BALBAL

Mylab partners with Adar Poonawalla,  Abhijit Pawar to scale up production of COVID-19 test kits

Pune, June 9 () Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, is investing USD 100 million on a potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed at Oxford University, according to a company official. The Pune-based company has partnered with AstraZeneca, a British biopharma giant, to ensure equitable supply of the AZD1222 vaccine doses to India as well as low-and-middle-income countries. "Our manufacturing facility is ready and we plan to start production in two months. We are spending more than USD 100 million for this facility. Till the trials are completed successfully for safety and efficacy, vaccines will not be distributed either in India or anywhere else in the world," Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India (SII), said. "Having said that we will start making a few millions of doses and stockpiling it at personal risk," added Poonawalla, while plying to a question on the firm's plans to move ahead in terms of production of the doses. To a question on how much doses India is likely to get in the first phase and by when they would be available, he said that it is a bit early to comment on a specific number. "However, if the vaccine trials succeed, India will gain access to the doses as it will also be the requirement of the Government of India. And we are certain that everybody will respect if the substantial volumes go to India," he added. Earlier, Poonawalla, on tie-up with the British drug major had said, "SII is delighted to partner with AstraZeneca in bringing this vaccine to India as well as low-and-middle-income countries." Over the past 50 years, SII has built significant capability in vaccine manufacturing and supply globally. "We will work closely with AstraZeneca to ensure fair and equitable distribution of the vaccine in these countries." Talking about SII's endeavour to develop a vaccine with USA based firm Codagenix, Poonawalla recently said that at present, the firm is undergoing pre-clinical trials (animal trial phase) and hope to progress to the human trial phase by September/October. "The aim is to make the vaccine over the next 1.5-2 years to help combat the novel coronavirus. With the combined efforts of our partner Codagenix, we are optimistic that we will be able to provide a viable and effective vaccine for mass use," he had said. Besides, Oxford and Codagenix, the firm is also working with Austria's Themis and other two vaccine candidates. At least half a dozen attempts at creating a vaccine against coronavirus are on globally and the efforts at Oxford are considered one of the most promising. A vaccine will be a radical intervention which can arrest the loss of lives due to the infections. SPK MKJ

Serum Institute investing USD 100 mn on potential COVID-19 vaccine

Wellness Forever Medicare Ltd, a leading retail pharmacy and wellness network, has filed draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with markets watchdog Sebi for an initial share sale. The size of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the company, backed by <keyword id="242973" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Serum-Institute" source="Orion">Serum Institute</keyword>'s <keyword id="383467" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="adar-poonawalla" source="Orion">Adar Poonawalla</keyword>, is likely to be in the range of ₹1,500-1,600 crore, according to merchant banking sources. Apart from a fresh issue worth up to ₹400 crore, there will be an Offer for Sale (OFS) wherein shares will be offloaded by promoters — Ashraf Mohammed Biran, Gulshan Haresh Bakhtiani and Mohan Ganpat Chavan — and other shareholders. The proceeds from the fresh issue will be utilised for funding capital expenditure for setting up of new stores as well as incremental working capital requirements, repayment/ pre-payment of borrowings and for general corporate purposes, according to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP). The OFS will include sale of up to 1.60 crore equity shares. Around 7.20 lakh shares each will be on offer by Biran and Bakhtiani. Besides, Chavan will offload up to 1.20 lakh shares and up to 144.85 lakh shares by other existing shareholders. IIFL Securities, Ambit Pvt Ltd, DAM Capital Advisors Ltd, and HDFC Bank are book running lead managers to the issue. In recent months, there has been a flurry of activities in the IPO market that also coincided with the stock market touching new peaks. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/here-is-a-list-of-ipos-likely-to-open-in-october-2021/slidelist/86693916.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">From PolicyBazaar to Adani Wilmar -- Here is a list of IPOs likely to open in October</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/top-earners-at-ritesh-agarwal-led-oyo-as-per-its-drhp/slidelist/86682750.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">OYO’s Ritesh Agarwal took home ₹1.6 crore in FY2021 — here are the top earners in the IPO-bound company</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/biden-floats-2-trillion-price-tag-social-spending-package-pushing-for-cuts-to-salvage-his-economic-plans/articleshow/86697537.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Biden floats $2 trillion price tag social spending package, pushing for cuts to salvage his economic plans</a>

Adar Poonawalla-backed pharmacy chain Wellness Forever files for IPO

<ul><li><keyword id="6354267" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sachin-tendulkar">Sachin Tendulkar</keyword> has invested $2 million in JetSynthesys, a digital entertainment and technology company.</li><li>JetSynthesys which also co-founded of e-sports company, Nodwin Gaming. Apart from Tendulkar, the company is also backed by former Infosys chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan and Adar Poonawalla of the <keyword id="95879" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Serum-Institute-of-India">Serum Institute of India</keyword> and the family offices of the promoters of Thermax, <keyword id="906497" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Triveni-Group">Triveni Group</keyword>, <keyword id="11748876" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="yohan-poonawalla-group">Yohan Poonawalla Group</keyword> and DSP Group.</li><li>We spoke to <keyword id="25597" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="rajan-navani">Rajan Navani</keyword>, Vice Chairman &amp; Managing Director, JetSynthesys,who talks to us about the company’s journey so far, what the funding means for it, and its future strategies to grow further.</li></ul>Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has invested $2 million in JetSynthesys, a digital entertainment and technology company. Tendulkar already had a joint venture for a digital destination for cricket, 100MB, and cricket games <keyword id="6046220" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sachin-Saga-Cricket-Champions">Sachin Saga Cricket Champions</keyword> and Sachin Saga VR. JetSynthesys has a catalogue of over 300 games across HTML, <keyword id="11749527" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="java-android-and-ios">Java, Android and iOS</keyword> platforms spanning across multiple segments. In India, the company has created several celebrity games. It is also known for developing mobile games with high fidelity and network play and for its global publishing partnerships with the likes of WWE (WWE Racing Showdown), Square Enix (Ludo Zenith), and Sony (for Hollywood film Passenger). JetSynthesys is also the co-founder of e-sports company, Nodwin Gaming. Apart from Tendulkar, the company is also backed by former Infosys chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan and Adar Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India. It is also backed by the family offices of the promoters of Thermax, Triveni Group, Yohan Poonawalla Group and DSP Group. We recently caught up with Rajan Navani, Vice Chairman &amp; Managing Director, JetSynthesys,who spoke to us about the company’s journey so far, what the funding means for it, and its future strategies to grow further. Excerpts: Q)You have just secured a fresh round of funding of $2 million from Sachin Tendulkar. What is it about JetSynthesys that has attracted investors from such diverse backgrounds? Investors back two things – executable ideas and people. JetSynthesys has both. Since our inception, we’ve successfully managed to rally a known coterie of names (Adar Poonawalla, Kris Gopalakrishnan, and promoters of Thermax, Triveni Group, Yohan Poonawalla Group and DSP Group) on the power of our vision. We also work hard to bring world class talent to the organization and I’d credit our success to the strength of the workforce. Our investors have seen this potential and the fact that we’ve covered so much ground in such a short span of time as a company is a testament to the dedication we collectively have which further bolsters their belief in us. Over the past five years, Sachin and Jetsynthesys have built products and platforms together keeping gamers at the heart of our strategy. This investment gives him a stake in the overall JetSynthesys story and it’s great to have him as part of this journey as we build a global new age digital entertainment and technology platform. When this association began, the aim was to provide an authentic gaming experience for cricket lovers across the globe; together we are looking to diversify that purview to include more cross category digital products and platforms. Q) What kind of growth have you been witnessing? What have your areas of focus been so far? Our gaming vertical has witnessed maximum growth since inception and the pandemic provided an even sharper upswing than before. JetSynthesys saw growth both in terms of consumption and monetization, and the overall player engagement has had a 40% to 150% boost, depending on the particular game in question. We witnessed a surge of monetization through inventory. The downloads also grew by 100-200% depending on what we had planned and player engagement improved from the previous average of 30-45 minutes a day to 50-55 minutes a day. For JetSynthesys, the plan that we had for the next 18 months got realized in a period of 6 months. Overall, the lockdown has been really good for us. Mindfulness, vernacular music, video content verticals have also seen 40-80% growth. Q)With this latest round of investment, what will your key focus be on to further strengthen your position in the market? Cricket is a celebrated sport that is entrenched within the DNA of Indians. In fact, its popularity and following is mirrored in the cricket skill-based gaming category. It has always been a strong focus area for us, and through this investment, we aim to strengthen our existing catalogue of products and platforms under our gaming vertical. Our capabilities will further build consumer love for brand Sachin and these funds will help us expand our roster of partnerships to other known names as well. Q)India is witnessing a boom in e-gaming. What do you think is the potential? Are we there yet, in terms of our talent pool, if not, where do we lack? For India, the gaming market is a sub-billion in a $170 billion industry. So the catch-up for India is massive. We have 13% of the world’s downloads on mobile and the mobile industry is the fastest growing platform. I look at a CAGR of 40-50% annually. Today, there are more global gaming studios that are using Indian talent and the nation becoming a part of the global supply chain in the gaming industry is another interesting format. We saw gaming go from casual to professional and also identified the early opportunity in<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/esports?src=hashtag_click"> esports</a> as a key pillar of the<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gaming?src=hashtag_click"> gaming</a> ecosystem in India when we co-founded Nodwin Gaming. As a category, esports has a bright future. Today, esports gamers have a major impact on gamers’ spending habits with 67% influenced by what influencers eat, 34% by what influencers wear and 18% by listening to music recommended by influencers. It is expected that Indian esports would be playing a key role in the global market by 2023. From the government standpoint, I have had extensive discussions with the commerce as well as the IT ministries. With the respective ministries, we have been vocal about the needs and potential to create livelihoods for young professionals through gaming. I think gaming brings a diverse set of talent pools ranging from engineering and art to animation and visualization. There are tons of pools required as we see this space growing even in terms of advanced technologies like AR or VR. These will all be the key drivers to bring in new types of talent needed for the gaming industry in India and globally. Investing in training infrastructure for this talent pool as well as incentivizing the industry in terms of building more infrastructure in similar lines to what Telangana has been doing – creating technology parks specifically for gaming and animation is required. I am seeing governments both at the state level and national level looking at this opportunity extensively. Being involved with Prime Minister Modi's vision of the new India of 2022, I think I have seen closely how this USD 1 trillion of the new age business economy will be shaping. Soon the government investments and incentives will flourish for the gaming sector, increasing large-scale mobilization of resources. The trillion dollars in that USD 5 trillion global economy will be from gaming and esports. The gaming industry will contribute massively to the global economy soon, hence growing the global pie. Q)What are a few hurdles for the gaming industry in India? With a strong presence beyond Tier I cities, online gaming needs Indian publishers for relevant and localized marketing that keeps diverse players engaged even through changing trends. Moreover, the Indian gaming population is growing but is fragmented, making distribution a challenge. Additionally, although the average revenue per paying user (ARPU) is increasing, it is far behind that of other countries. This has also led to limited institutional capital being deployed so far. The last five years have seen tremendous growth, primarily in casual gaming and real money gaming. With gamers maturing, ARPUs improving through microtransactions, and gaming companies getting exits, the industry is coming of age. The next phase of growth is expected from midcore/hardcore games. Also, while the Covid-19 induced lockdown was a major shot in the arm for the gaming industry, with so much digital action going on, most companies realized that the lack of discovery was becoming the initial challenge. At some point, the ability to grab the attention of a user became a bit more expensive. Even though we have an established gaming studio looking to expand and grow, the talent crunch at the India level is there. There is a dearth of a high-quality talent pool in India. The Indian companies haven't created that much success globally especially in some areas like engineering. We might be good at creatives but when it comes to game design, we lack to deliver deeper products. Being able to build products that can generate several hundred million dollars of revenue a year is still a dream. Another challenge is the significant gap between the way our user is monetised in India and other established global markets. The dependence on a few advertising revenues compared to in-app purchases being higher in countries like India is required. Being a frugal market when it comes to being able to demonstrate value, India still gives high levels of performance. Nobody pushes the price-performance curve as an Indian consumer does, that is what makes us competitive. We can continue to deliver greater performance at a lower price thus becoming super competitive. Hence, I believe in India. We will be able to take new models to the world, take new performance measures, and do at a better price point like has been done in so many other industries. On the upside, the industry today has more opportunities than challenges and our early mover advantage has held us in good stead. One of the things that we have identified in the mobile gaming aspect is the element of ‘disruption’ which we have gone through in these years. This disruption has helped the mobile ecosystem evolve in this state wherein today mobile gaming is the biggest source of revenue generation. When we look at the Indian market, the biggest challenge is monetization. Retention is also another challenge among users, since we identify heavier games as being an issue when it comes to retention amongst gamers. These are the challenges we need to address on our side. New monetization models are evolving in the market. We have to adapt to the new evolution that is happening across in terms of monetization like the Real Money Gaming aspect. Q)Where will JetSynthesys' next phase of growth come from? Not only do we want to be India’s largest digital entertainment and technology company, but we are also pushing ourselves to play the leadership role globally. We understand the role of responsibility in digital, and our goal is to strengthen the trust that we build between JetSynthesys, our consumers, and our gamers. We try to go through all of our products and figure out what is “Gaming for Good” and what is “Digital for Good.” How we can shape and define that in the future is something that excites me. So besides the economic and financial good of the company, building a great company on the right values in an emerging sector, particularly for India, is something that takes greater precedence. Figuring out a way to do this excites us at JetSynthesys and unites us as a team. I am personally looking forward to seeing what the next 5 years hold for us. Also, looking at esports now as entertainment and the new ways of sports entertainment which is emerging- with people watching streamers rather than playing or witnessing the physical sport, is an area that we are very excited about and where we think that we will again strengthen our positioning as we move forward.

With a $2 million funding from Sachin Tendulkar, Rajan Navani of digital entertainment and tech company JetSynthesys shares the roadmap ahead

<ul><li>The vaccine that will have to be taken in two doses, will cost less than $10 (₹740) in international markets.</li><li>However, the vaccine will be available free of charge for Russian citizens. </li><li><keyword id="10325662" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="russias-sputnik-v-vaccine">Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine</keyword> has an efficacy of 95% after 42 days of the first dose. </li></ul>Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine has an efficacy of <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/coronavirus-russia-says-sputnik-v-covid-19-95-effective-news-agency-afp-2329561">95%</a> after 42 days of the first dose. The results were released by Russia's health ministry, the state-run Gamaleya research centre and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). For the study, 22,000 volunteers had been vaccinated for the first dose and more than 19,000 volunteers with the first and second doses. The vaccine that will have to be taken in two doses, will cost less than $10 (₹740) in international markets. However, the vaccine will be available free of charge for Russian citizens. According to its current capacity, Sputnik V vaccine will be produced abroad for 500 million people per year, starting from 2021. “Sputnik V will be two or more times cheaper than mRNA vaccines with similar efficacy levels,” said the official statement. One of the international partners for the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/the-race-for-covid-19-vaccine-heres-how-moderna-pfizer-and-sputnik-v-vaccines-stack-up-against-each-other/articleshow/79263801.cms"> Sputnik V vaccine</a> is India, however requests for more than 1.2 billion doses of Sputnik V vaccine have come in from over 50 countries. “The Gamaleya Center has developed one of the most efficient vaccines against coronavirus in the world with an efficacy rate of more than 90% and a price that is two times lower than that of other vaccines with similar efficacy rate. We are ready to start deliveries of the Sputnik V vaccine to foreign markets thanks to partnerships with manufacturers in India, Brazil, South Korea, China and four other countries,” said Kirill Dmitriev, CEO, Russian Direct Investment Fund in a statement. The news of <keyword id="10325661" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="russias-vaccine">Russia’s vaccine</keyword> follows the positive news from Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford Astrazeneca — all of whom are progressing rapidly with their vaccine trials and are claiming success so far. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/the-oxford-covid-19-vaccine-will-only-cost-the-indian-government-3-per-dose-reveals-adar-poonawalla/articleshow/79371741.cms">Serum Institute of India</a> which will distribute the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine had said that India will be a priority and will cost the Indian government $3 per dose. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/the-oxford-covid-19-vaccine-will-only-cost-the-indian-government-3-per-dose-reveals-adar-poonawalla/articleshow/79371741.cms">The Oxford COVID-19 vaccine will only cost the Indian government $3 per dose, reveals Adar Poonawalla</a>

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is 95% effective — each dose will cost less than $10 internationally but will be free for Russians

The <keyword id="1129131" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="scientific-community">scientific community</keyword> has stated that they had hinted to the Central government about the <keyword id="2987267" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-variants">new variants</keyword> of Covid-19 virus and also an increase in the cases in May this year. The community, however, did not make any prediction due to lack of data analysis. Dr. M. <keyword id="6541669" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="vidyasagar">Vidyasagar</keyword>, who is a professor at <keyword id="6354859" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIt">IIT</keyword> (Hyderabad), stated that by March 13 this year Covid cases were showing an upward trend but as they did not have requisite data available so they did not make any prediction. Vidyasagar further stated that after they hinted, the government said the authorities made long- and medium-term plans to short-term plans. Based on the events of the past few weeks, however, those plans seem to have been inadequate, said Vidyasagar citing the current crisis of oxygen supply across the country. The IIT Kanpur study in April also stated that the daily cases in the second wave will increase by May 8. The Kanpur study also predicted a peak of 38 to 44 lakh active cases between May 14 and May 18. The scientists also stated in March that they had alerted the government about the new and more contagious variant of the coronavirus -- SARS-CoV-2 Genetics Consortium, or INSACOG. The institution was set up by the government in December last year, specifically to detect genomic variants of the coronavirus. The institution examined 10 national laboratories across the country studying virus variants. The institution first detected B.1.617 as early as February. Ajay Parida, director of the state-run <keyword id="3748353" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="institute-of-life-sciences">Institute of Life Sciences</keyword> and a member of INSACOG, reportedly stated that they first detected B.1.617 in February and alerted the government. The <keyword id="83655" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-health-ministry">Union Health Ministry</keyword>'s <keyword id="6367874" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-centre-for-disease-control">National Centre for Disease Control</keyword> received the finding in March. The finding reportedly stated that the mutations, called E484Q and L452R, were of high concern. It stated E484Q mutant viruses escaping highly neutralising antibodies in cultures, and L452R mutation was responsible for both increased transmissibility and immune escape. The mutated versions of the virus could more easily enter a human cell and counter a person's immune response to it, according to the findings. The ministry put the findings in public domain in March stating that 'more problematic variants required following measures already underway'. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/tata-power-says-it-has-no-such-decision-on-an-ipo-for-its-renewable-energy-business/articleshow/82365533.cms" style="">Tata Power says it has ‘no such decision’ on an IPO for its renewable energy business</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/gaming-startup-winzo-gives-complete-exit-to-hike-kavin-mittal-gets-four-times-return-on-investment/articleshow/82367340.cms" style="">Gaming startup WinZO gives complete exit to Hike – Kavin Mittal gets four times return on investment</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/adar-poonawalla-estimates-two-more-months-of-covid-19-vaccine-shortage-in-india/articleshow/82366770.cms">SII’s Adar Poonawalla estimates two more months of COVID-19 vaccine shortage in India — and the blame game is heating up</a>

Warned the Centre about new COVID-19 variants and surge in cases, says scientist community

The day is not far when <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> will see its own mega private aerospace company like Elon Musk-owns SpaceX or <keyword id="12232315" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jeff-bezos-run" source="Orion">Jeff Bezos-run</keyword> Blue Origin, taking travellers to the edge of space and beyond, <keyword id="12180756" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="srinath-ravichandran" source="Orion">Srinath Ravichandran</keyword>, co-founder and CEO of rocket startup AgniKul Cosmos, has envisioned. In a chat with IANS, Ravichandran who is ecstatic after Agnikul Cosmos was granted access to the Indian Space Research Organisation (<keyword id="6358064" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="isro" source="Orion">ISRO</keyword>) facilities and expertise for the development and testing of systems and subsystems of its rockets, said that the pact with ISRO will allow them to ultilise its facilities to test out various sub-systems of their launch vehicle. "This will, in turn, help us with reduced capital expenditure and expedited testing," he said. "India can have its own SpaceX or Blue Origin kind of mega private space firm in the near future. There is so much support from the government and investors are open to invest too in the homegrown spacetech startups," Ravichandran added. The next step, he added, will be to aim multiple launches per year and scale to the extent of having a launch once in two-three weeks. "Beyond that would be about making the vehicles more efficient, thereby providing even cheaper access to customers. We are doing this through a mix of innovations on various technologies in the vehicle," Ravichandran informed. Last month, Chennai-based Agnikul Cosmos received the nod by the Department of Space to carry out multiple tests and qualify its single piece 3D-printed semi-cryogenic engine and other systems of its rocket at various ISRO centres. This is the second pact that the Department of Space has signed with a rocket maker, after the first with Hyderabad-based <keyword id="7537495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="skyroot-aerospace" source="Orion">Skyroot Aerospace</keyword> on September 11. According to Ravichandran, their rocket engines are 100 per cent 3D-printed, that too in a single shot. "This allows us to directly assemble what comes out of the 3D printer in our launch vehicle. The big advantage of this is the ability to provide and enable rapid launch access and, at the same time, make customisable launch vehicles," elaborated Ravichandran. He formed the startup with Moin SPM within IIT-Madras with a seed funding of Rs 3 crore, with an aim to develop and launch its first rocket in 2021 and subsequently develop ability to provide launch service for satellites. The current investors in the spacetech startup are Mayfield India, PI Ventures, Speciale Invest, Beenext, Artha and others. In June, India decided to allow private companies to establish and operate rocket launch sites within and outside the country, subject to prior authorisation from the government. Similarly, any rocket launch (orbital or sub-orbital) from Indian or overseas territory can be carried out only with authorisation from Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Center (IN-SPACe), an independent body constituted by the Government of India, under the Department of Space (DOS). The launch could be from own or leased launch site and also from mobile platforms (land, sea or air) as per the Draft National Space Transportation Policy-2020 brought out by the Department of Space. "Now that we also have to plan the entire engine building facility in-house, we are confident that we can control engine making end-to-end in India, thereby not only enabling 'make in India' but also 'design in India'," Ravichandran told IANS. He said that anyone who wants to do a space tech startup should do it today. "Right now is the best time to do a spacetech startup in India. The government has been very forthcoming in terms of the help provided to enable private missions and now would be a good time to get started to get things done," Ravichandran noted. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/adar-poonawalla-backed-pharmacy-chain-wellness-forever-files-for-ipo/articleshow/86699746.cms">Adar Poonawalla-backed pharmacy chain Wellness Forever files for IPO</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/top-earners-at-ritesh-agarwal-led-oyo-as-per-its-drhp/slidelist/86682750.cms">OYO’s Ritesh Agarwal took home ₹1.6 crore in FY2021 — here are the top earners in the IPO-bound company</a>

You Searched For "adar poonawalla investments" and got 10 results

Serum Institute of India expects COVID vaccine by year-end

PTI

Oxford COVID-19 vaccine may hit the Indian market by the end of the year if successful, says CEO of world’s largest vaccine manufacturer

BI India Bureau

Adar Poonawalla invests Rs 12 cr in cookie brand Sweetish House Mafia

PTI

Mylab partners with Adar Poonawalla, Abhijit Pawar to scale up production of COVID-19 test kits

PTI

Serum Institute investing USD 100 mn on potential COVID-19 vaccine

PTI

Adar Poonawalla-backed pharmacy chain Wellness Forever files for IPO

PTI

With a $2 million funding from Sachin Tendulkar, Rajan Navani of digital entertainment and tech company JetSynthesys shares the roadmap ahead

Samarpita Banerjee

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is 95% effective — each dose will cost less than $10 internationally but will be free for Russians

Sanchita Dash

Warned the Centre about new COVID-19 variants and surge in cases, says scientist community

IANS

India set to witness its SpaceX moment soon, says Agnikul CEO

IANS

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