The Story of Adar Poonawalla, India’s Vaccine Prince

Indian Businessman, Philanthropist, vaccine maker popularly known as India’s ‘Vaccine Prince’ is continuously making to the headlines in Indian media and we are here to tell you everything you need to know about him.

Who is Adar. C. Poonawalla?: An Indian Businessman, Philanthropist, vaccine maker popularly known as India’s ‘Vaccine Prince’ is continuously making to the headlines in Indian media and we are here to tell you everything you need to know about him. Yes, you got it right; it’s none other than Adar. C. Poonawalla.

This  40-year old, is the chief executive of Serum Institute of India. Founded in 1966 by his father Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. is now the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by producing and selling more than 1.5 billion doses globally. He joined his father in 2001 after his graduation from the University of Westminster in London. He is the only child of his parents, a father to two sons and is married to Natasha Poonawalla. He is the man behind making the serum Institute’s Oral Polio Vaccines the best seller of the company. Now to fight against the Coronavirus pandemic, he is on a mission to vaccinate billions of people across the globe.

Not just this, The ‘Vaccine Prince’ is also known for his lavish and luxury lifestyle. His European style architecture, collector of high-priced watches and his massive collection of luxury cars say all about it. With more than $11.5 billion of Net worth, Poonawallas come under one of the richest families in the world.

Also a recipient of many business and Philanthropy awards, Mr. Poonawalla adjudged Entrepreneur of the Year by Economic Timesfor unparalleled contribution in fighting Covid-19 by successfully supplying huge quantities of Covishield in India and globally in March 2021.

Then why is he facing severe backlashes in the country? What made him fly to the UK? Stay till the end and we will answer all your questions.

Last year, Mr. Poonawalla struck a deal with Oxford -AstraZeneca to manufacture and stockpile its Covid-19 vaccine, Covishield. Since then, he rose to fame and has constantly been in headlines for his inconsistent statements. While he claimed to produce 100 million doses by March 2021, SII’s production capacity remained to only 70 million doses by May 2021. The delay in production led to the shortage of vaccines in India. Meanwhile, Poonawalla’s alternate reasons on the delay in ramping up the production has left the country confused.

Mr. Poonawalla was given ‘Y’ category security in April after the government conducted a threat assessment amid the raging second wave of coronavirus and anger in the country over vaccine shortage. Days later, he had left for the UK from where he is expected to return within the next few weeks