Serum Institute of India
World's largest vaccine manufacturer; Pune-based; manufacturing Oxford ChAdOx1 Bundibugyo candidate on $8.6m CEPI grant.
Last refreshed: 9 June 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Is the Serum Institute's manufacturing scale the key to getting a Bundibugyo vaccine to DRC and Uganda quickly?
Timeline for Serum Institute of India
Positioned to manufacture Oxford ChAdOx1 Bundibugyo vaccine candidate with $8.6m CEPI backing
Pandemics and Biosecurity: $112m for vaccines, none for the wards- Is the Serum Institute of India the biggest vaccine maker in the world?
- Yes. The Serum Institute produces more than 1.5 billion doses annually from its Pune facilities, making it the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume. It supplies vaccines to over 165 countries through WHO, UNICEF, and GAVI programmes.
- What did the Serum Institute make during COVID-19?
- The Serum Institute manufactured the AstraZeneca-Oxford ChAdOx1 vaccine under the brand name Covishield, producing the majority of doses distributed through the COVAX facility to lower-income countries.
- Why is the Serum Institute involved in the Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine?
- CEPI awarded SII $8.6m on 1 June 2026 to manufacture an Oxford ChAdOx1-based Bundibugyo candidate using the same vector platform as Covishield. SII's manufacturing scale and GAVI supply relationships are designed to ensure affordable access for DRC and Uganda.Source: CEPI
- What is the ChAdOx1 vaccine platform?
- ChAdOx1 (Chimpanzee Adenovirus Oxford 1) is a viral vector vaccine platform developed by the University of Oxford. It was used in the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and is now being adapted for Bundibugyo ebolavirus with CEPI funding at the Serum Institute.
Background
The Serum Institute of India (SII) is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, producing more than 1.5 billion doses annually from its facilities in Pune, Maharashtra. Founded in 1966 by Cyrus Poonawalla, SII manufactures vaccines for more than 165 countries and supplies the majority of vaccines used in UNICEF, WHO, and GAVI procurement programmes for lower-income countries. Its manufacturing scale gives it unmatched cost efficiency: many of its vaccines cost a fraction of comparable doses from European or North American producers. SII's global profile rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it produced the AstraZeneca-Oxford ChAdOx1 vaccine (branded as Covishield) at enormous scale, delivering the majority of doses distributed through COVAX to lower-income countries.
On 1 June 2026 CEPI awarded the Serum Institute $8.6 million to manufacture an Oxford ChAdOx1-based Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine candidate as part of a three-platform emergency portfolio. The ChAdOx1 vector platform is the same technology SII used at mass scale for Covishield during COVID-19; applying it to Bundibugyo means SII can leverage existing process knowledge, cell lines, and regulatory precedent rather than building a new manufacturing pathway from scratch. The equity dimension is deliberate: SII's Pune facilities and existing GAVI supply relationships mean that if the candidate reaches authorisation, doses can be manufactured and distributed to DRC and Uganda at a cost and volume that Western manufacturers could not match. No clinical trials had begun as of the grant announcement; the funding covers process development and early manufacturing work needed to advance the candidate to a Phase 1 readiness stage.
