Monday marked an important day in the battle against coronavirus as the first results of Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine showed that it is safe and provokes an immune reaction in a person that lasts for almost two months.
In India, at the helm of the discussion about the COVID-19 vaccine was Pune's Serum Institute of India which also declared that it will soon apply to the Indian regulator for the licensure trials of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine.
Commenting on the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine's results, Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India (SII), said, "As soon as they grant us permission, we will begin with trials for the vaccine in India. In addition, we will soon start manufacturing the vaccine in large volumes."
Here's what we should know about the CEO of SII Adar Poonawalla:
Adar Poonawalla was born on January 14, 1981, and he is the son of Dr Cyrus Poonawalla who founded SII - the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by the number of doses produced. His mother's name is Villoo Poonawalla.
Adar Poonawalla was born on January 14, 1981, and he is the son of Dr Cyrus Poonawalla who founded SII. | Twitter/ @adarpoonawalla
He was educated at the Bishops School (Pune), St. Edmund's School, Canterbury Kent (UK).
Adar did his bachelors from the University of Westminster in management.
Adar Poonawalla joined Serum Institute in 2001 after graduating from the University of Westminster in London.
In 2011, he became the CEO of Serum Institute of India with full control of day-to-day operations of the company.
Adar Poonawalla joined Serum Institute in 2001 after graduating from the University of Westminster in London. | Twitter/ @adarpoonawalla
He is married to Natasha Poonawalla in 2006. Interestingly, the duo met at Vijay Mallya’s New Year’s Eve party in Goa.
The couple has two sons - Cyrus (who was named after Adar's father Cyrus Poonawalla) and Darius.
The couple has two sons - Cyrus (who was named after Adar's father Cyrus Poonawalla) and Darius. | Instagram (natasha.poonawalla)
He is known for the CSR activities by SII and in 2015 the Poonawalla group decided to invest Rs 100 crore with the aim of turning Pune into one of the cleanest cities in the country.
In 2016, he was listed by GQ Magazine and awarded Philanthropist of the year.
In 2018, Adar Poonawalla received the CNBC Asia's award for Corporate Social Responsibility of the year.
