Serum Institute pegs losses due to fire at over Rs 1000 cr; Maharashtra CM orders probe

PUNE:

The Serum Institute of India (SII) said it had suffered losses of over Rs 1,000 crore because of the devastating fire that erupted a day before within its premises.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has ordered a probe to assess if the blaze was an accident or sabotage.

Thackeray also visited the SII on Friday to take stock of the damages.

He later addressed a press conference, where Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SII was also present.

“The extent of the damage is more than Rs 1,000 crore because of the equipment and products over there that were to be launched,” Poonawalla told reporters.

He, however, reiterated that the Covishield vaccine production had not been affected because of the blaze.

“Fortunately, we have got multiple facilities, and as CM sir has explained, the COVID-19 vaccine’s supply will not be affected because of the incident,” Poonawalla added.

The CEO informed that though there was no impact on the Covishield facility; the facility meant for Rotavirus and BCG vaccines suffered damages in the fire. (PTI)