PUNE, India (AP) – A fire broke out Thursday in a building under construction at the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, which could affect its future expansion of COVID-19 vaccine production.
Firefighters were extinguishing the flames, the Pune city fire office in the southern state of Maharashtra reported. The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage were not immediately clear.
The company said the fire was limited to a new facility it is building to increase COVID-19 vaccine production and ensure it is better prepared for future pandemics.
He said the fire did not affect existing facilities manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines or a stockpile of about 50 million doses. No injuries were reported, he said.
The images showed huge plumes of smoke coming out of the building as firefighters worked to put out the blaze.
Serum Institute of India is the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world and has been contracted to manufacture one billion doses of AstraZeneca / Oxford University vaccine.
Its CEO, Adar Poonawalla, said in an interview with The Associated Press last month that he expects 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 key to expansion.
Of the more than 12 billion doses of coronavirus vaccine expected to be produced this year, rich countries have already bought some 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 developing countries will use.