Gates Foundation to fund two cos for vaccine research

NEW DELHI: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will fund two Indian firms- Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech- to develop and sell vaccines for pneumonia and diarrhea that kills thousands of children every year, at less than half the current market price.

"The foundation will fund part of the cost for the clinical trials," Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman and MD of Serum Institute of India told ET. He did not say how much money the foundation will contribute but it costs about $10-20 million and $20-30 million to conduct clinical studies for pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccine, respectively. Both Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech are privately held local firms and will separately develop their vaccines.

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and co-founder of IT giant Microsoft, said on Thursday in a media briefing, "We are giving grants to Bharat Biotech for a new rotavirus vaccine." According to estimates, nearly six lakh children die of rotavirus that causes diarrhea among infants each year globally.

The philanthropic organisation will fund as much as $30 million in the phase III trials for rotavirus vaccine that will allow firms like Serum to offer the vaccine 'at the best possible price'. Gates did not say how much of this money will be separately granted to the two Indian vaccine makers.

Krishna Ella, managing director of Bharat Biotech, said it has already started phase III trials of the rotavirus vaccine being developed from an indigenously discovered human strain. He declined to share details.

While both the local firms will work on developing cost rotavirus vaccines , Serum will also be involved in the vaccine for pneumonia.

Under the agreement with Serum, the country's largest vaccine maker will set up the manufacturing plant on its own and supply the two vaccines globally at an affordable price. The company plans to launch the drug in three years at less than half the prices of exiting brands marketed by American drugmaker Merck & Co and UK-based GlaxoSmithKline sell rotavirus vaccines. Some reports say existing drugs cost about $200-250 per dosage in North America.

"We will have a capacity of 80-100 million dosage for each vaccine," said Serum Institute's Poonawalla. The Pune-based firm has been supplying other vaccines for diseases such as menangitis besides pentavalent vaccines at just about one-fourth the price of its competitors, he said. The vaccines will be supplied to international procuring and supply agencies such as the UNICEF. These sourcing agencies can buy a larger number of such low cost vaccines with the same money and thus supply more dosages for underpriviledged children in other needy countries.

Bill Gates said India will be a source of lot of important innovations because it has great scientists and universities with understanding of the local needs. The Foundation plans to work with partners in India at basic research level, drug and vaccine development, manufacture of drugs and vaccines to leverage its low-cost capabilities.