How Innovation Became the Serum Institute's Defining Legacy

Every day, millions of children around the world are protected by vaccines made in Pune, India – all by a company most people have never heard of.

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Founded in 1966 by Cyrus Poonawalla and now led by his son Adar, the Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, shipping doses to more than 170 countries with a focus on underprivileged communities in the Global South.

But SII is not just about scale. The company continues to innovate, producing cheaper alternatives and next-generation vaccines. Last month, it partnered with CEPI to develop a bird flu shot that could be rapidly adapted if an outbreak like H5N1 spreads among humans. In the past two years, SII delivered a WHO-backed low-cost malaria vaccine and is racing to make dengue treatment affordable. Even during COVID-19, when the world depended on its vaccines, SII resisted pricing pressure. The company estimates that Covishield could have sold for five times the amount, yet SII kept the dose around $3 for low and middle-income countries, reflecting its founding principle: innovation should serve humanity.

How It All Started