Serum Institute of India became the world’s biggest vaccine maker by producing low-cost inoculations for developing nations that other companies wouldn’t. Now it’s looking to tap into the rich world’s need for those shots as well.
Over the next three years, Pune-based Serum plans to start production of yellow fever and dengue shots for European and American travelers to countries where those diseases are endemic, Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said in an interview. That would add higher-margin products to the company’s growing suite of immunizations, which include a sub-$4 malaria shot that was approved by the World Health Organization this week.
Serum, a family-owned business that branched out from racehorse-breeding, has thrived by targeting neglected diseases that plague the world’s poorest places. With its COVID-19 shots and plans for a so-called childhood TDAP vaccine that targets a constellation of ailments like whooping cough, the company is looking to expand in more competitive, and potentially more profitable, markets.