Serum Institute of India


Situated in the city of Pune, the Serum Institute of India is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer which helps provide the jab to millions of young and impoverished children at low affordable prices. In recent days, it has come into the limelight for mass-producing the COVID vaccine and exporting it to several third-world African countries for free. These philanthropic actions have brought the Poonawalla's - the frontrunners of this magnificent institute- praise from all over the globe. However, there's a unique story behind the advent of the SII and Poonalwalla's skill to make a successful business. 

The Poonawalla's were heirs to a hefty amount of ancestral money. They owned large stud farms where they bred horses.  These horses naturally produced a serum that was effective in making vaccines. Several horses owned by them contributed to the production of the vaccines as the Poonawalla's sent the retired horses to the Haffkine Institute in Mumbai. But a paucity of horses meant that enough serum was never available to make the required amount of vaccines that could satiate the demand of the country. Also, the Haffkine Institute lacked the production capability to ensure mass manufacture of the doses.  Subsequently, most of the vaccines had to be imported from other countries.  

Armed with their ancestral money, the Poonawalla's decided to capitalize on this opportunity. They used their money to hire some doctors from Haffkine Institute with the required knowledge. Cyrus Poonalwalla, along with his brother Zavary, set up the Serum Institute of India in 1966, Since then the institute has expanded its production facilities and claims that 65% of the world's children have received at least a single dose of vaccine which was produced by the SII. 

Mr. Cyrus possessed no knowledge about the production of vaccines but his determination and will to provide quality vaccines to all paved his way to becoming a billionaire and a benevolent philanthropist. His son, Adar Poonawalla, strives to carry forward the legacy and follow in his father's footsteps.  Turns out that there are other benefits to owning stud-farms than just showing off. 

Written by Vaibhav Jain                                                                                                              Meme by Veertej Singh

Thank you

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Winter is coming.

Image
Arguably, one of the best shows to be ever made, Game of Thrones followed the stories of various rulers vying for power over the fictional continent of Westeros. The complex world of GOT was first discovered by our world in the series of novels named A Song of Ice and Fire, written by George R. R. Martin. The show reached every pinnacle of success and fame but very few people know about the fact that GRRM's exquisite world is based on the War of the Roses, a series of civil wars fought for the throne of England.  Fought in the 15th century, the conflict was initiated by the death of the ruler King Edward III and the instant succession of his grandson, Richard II, as the ruler. Edward's eldest son had already died before the death of his father. Passing of the throne directly to the grandson enraged the four other sons of Edward. This complex kerfuffle of inheritance guaranteed a tussle within the family and various generations began claiming the right to the throne. Richard was...
Read more

A tale of an Ambitious Statesman

Image
‘Et Tu, Brute?’ these were the last words exclaimed by Julius Caesar as he stood helpless while being stabbed by his best friend, Brutus, along with ‘The Liberators’, a group of senators who were disturbed by Caesar’s ambitions and perceived them as a threat to the existence of the Roman Republic which their ancestors have fought to establish. But was his assassination justified? What events led to this gruesome and brutal murder? Is being ambitious wrong? Caesar has shared power over Rome along with Pompey and Licinius Crassus under the First Triumvirate. As his popularity among people grew, he advocated certain reforms which included uniting the Roman Republic into a cohesive unit and wanted to bring order back into the Republic. Fearing his growing popularity, the Senate demanded of him to relinquish his Army. Refusing to do so, he broke the law to seize power and led an army against Pompey. They fought a civil war which was ultimately won by Julius Caesar and he started dominee...
Read more

Regal affairs continued

Image
At last, the tenth year is finally here. The 'Iliad'  narrates the events of this year only over a period of fifty-one days. Throughout the war, the Greeks have laid claim to many war prizes from the surrounding countryside. One of these prizes just so happens to be Chryseis, the daughter of Chryses, a priest of Apollo. A quarrel takes place between Achilles and King Agamemnon. Achilles claims that her release would palliate the Wrath of Apollo upon the entirety of the Greek army. The dubious king refused to heed to Achilles, this ultimately leads to Achille's withdrawal from the war. At this point, Achilles' companion Patroclus borrows his armor and enter the battle with their contingent of soldiers to help the distressed Greeks who have been fighting for weeks till no end. Supposing it to be Achilles himself, the Trojans flee in terror from the camp before Patroclus, who pursues them to the town and lays waste to everything they held dear. At last Patroclus, himself i...
Read more