The Serum Institute of India, the local maker of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, said on Monday it expected the British and Indian governments to approve shots for emergency use within a few days.
“You will be hearing some good news from the UK very soon,” Serum’s Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla told reporters, adding that approval from the Indian regulator would likely follow shortly.
“By January, we should have the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine licensed.”
The company has already made 40 million to 50 million doses of the vaccine and will be able to ramp up capacity to around 100 million a month by March when a new facility comes online, Poonawalla said.
India wants to deliver 600 million coronavirus shots in the next six to eight months starting in January. The country’s drug regulator is also considering similar approvals for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and another developed by India’s Bharat Biotech.
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