India's role in COVID-19 vaccine

Indian manufacturers have the ability to produce vaccines and pharmaceutical drugs at the lowest costs world-wide.

- NITYA NAND DEEPAK

In early July, India slid into the third spot for highest COVID-19 cases worldwide and the pressing need for mass vaccination assumed the center-stage. As population density and vast geographies continue to pose issues in controlling the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, the health experts debate the unfolding of community spread of CO- VID-19. India’s medical research institutes and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies have been rapidly expanding their already voluminous production capacities and accelerating vaccine development in response to the outbreak. With these capabilities, India is poised to be a key global player in effectively countering the pandemic through the production and distribution of vaccinations.

Over the last decade, India has emerged as a global pharmaceuticals and vaccine hub. Globally, it is one of the largest suppliers of generic medicines, occupying20% share of global supplies, ranking third in terms of proportion and tenth rank in terms of value. Outside of the US, India has the largest number of FDA compliant pharmaceutical plants and has nearly 1400WHO approved pharmaceutical manufacturing units with the latest technologies; the country houses over 10,500 manufacturing facilities operating under 3,000 innovative pharmaceutical companies.