Serum Institute of India SII buys 50 pc stake in pharma packaging firm Schott Kaisha
Pune/IBNS: Pune-based manufacturer of AstraZeneca vaccine, Covishield, Serum Institute of India (SII) has acquired a 50 per cent stake in SCHOTT Kaisha to become SCHOTT's joint venture partner and secure the pharma packaging supply, the pharma company announced on Tuesday.
"Securing supply chain is of strategic importance...As a longtime customer, we use their vials, ampoules and syringes to store vaccines, including Covishield" CEO Adar Poonawalla said in his statement.
SCHOTT is the manufacturer of the glass vials to the coronavirus vaccine manufacturer across the globe.
Kairus Dadachanji and Shapoor Mistry were the former co-owners of the Indian joint venture SCHOTT Kaisha.
It is important for the vaccine industry to be self-reliant for its raw materials #AtmanirbharBharat. With this in mind, @SerumInstIndia has acquired 50% stake in SCHOTT Kaisha to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential pharma packaging products for the Indian vaccine industry. pic.twitter.com/Lx81l70RT9
— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) August 17, 2021
Dr Frank Heinricht, CEO of SCHOTT said, "As India has steadily established its position as a global pharmaceutical hub, we are delighted to strengthen our footprint within the Indian pharma supply chain. We are looking forward to strong impulses from this partnership."
Eric L'Heureux, the new managing director and former longstanding head of operations with the venture said, "We have significantly increased our production capacity in India. Over the last three years, we have invested roughly Rs 600 crores to set up two new plants in Gujarat's Umarsadi and Himachal Pradesh's Baddi, and to secure uninterrupted supply in our existing facilities during the pandemic."
The fact that SCHOTT has an integrated value chain, covering also the glass tubing the packaging is made of, further helped to secure the supply chain.
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