Here's an insight into the life and times of India's vaccine king - Cyrus Poonawalla

"We reach more children than Coca-Cola and PepsiCo can ever hope to," Cyrus Poonawalla.

Cyrus Poonawala is an Indian billionaire and Chairman and MD of Serum Institute with a net worth of USD 19 billion (approximately Rs 1,42,500 crore). Poonawala founded Serum Institute in 1966, in Pune, which went on to become the world’s largest vaccine maker. Today he has become India’s fifth-richest person according to Forbes Indian rich list. 

The sheer production and reach of Serum is so tremendous that an estimated 65 per cent of the children across the globe have received at least one vaccination from the company. It has made an impact in more than 170 countries. 

Cyrus Poonawalla was born in Pune in a family of horse breeders and was fond of horses and horse racing. After completing his graduation from BMCC College Pune, he started off with Serum Institute to produce vaccines from horse blood. After the successful production of the anti-tetanus vaccine, it produced anti-snake bite vaccines too. Eventually, the company widened its offerings covering numerous life-threatening diseases. The aim was clear: to provide quality vaccines at affordable rates. 

The Serum Institute set an example of being a top-class organization during covid vaccinations. It had the big task of countering the pandemic with effective vaccination. It achieved the mammoth task of rolling out over 80 crore vaccine doses in 278 days with the vaccine – Covishield. Today, Serum Institute has become even more popular in the global markets. Every time, a vaccine is rolled out, a life is helped and a small fortune is also earned by Cyrus Poonawalla. He is now famous as the ‘Vaccine King’ of India.