PUNE, India (AP) – A fire broke out Thursday in a building under construction at the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, possibly affecting its future expansion of COVID-19 vaccine production.
Firefighters were putting out the flames, said the fire department in the city of Pune, in the southern state of Maharashtra. The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage were not immediately clarified.
The company said the fire was restricted to a new facility it is building to increase production of COVID-19 vaccines and ensure that it is better prepared for future pandemics.
He said the fire did not affect existing facilities that produce COVID-19 vaccines or a stock of about 50 million doses. No injuries were reported, he said.
The images showed huge columns of smoke exiting the building as firefighters worked to extinguish the fire.
The Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and has been contracted to manufacture one billion doses of the AstraZeneca / Oxford University vaccine.
Its CEO, Adar Poonawalla, said in an interview with The Associated Press last month that he hopes to increase production capacity from 1.5 billion doses to 2.5 billion doses per year by the end of 2021. The new facility is the key to expansion.
Of the more than 12 billion doses of the coronavirus vaccine expected to be produced this year, rich countries have already bought around 9 billion and many have options to buy even more. As a result, the Serum Institute is likely to produce most of the vaccines that will be used by developing countries.