JOIN USSerum Institute of India leads cross-sector Indian investments into UK
The Serum Institute of India will invest 240 million pounds in the UK to expand its vaccine business and set up a new sales office creating a large number of jobs, Downing Street announced as part of plans for a 1-billion pound India-UK Enhanced Trade Partnership creating around 6,500 jobs in Britain.
The announcement came ahead of a virtual summit between Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
The Pune-based vaccine manufacturer headed by CEO Adar Poonawalla is among a list of nearly 20 Indian companies across sectors such as healthcare, biotech and software services to announce significant investment plans in the UK this week. It was also revealed that the Serum Institute of India (SII) has started phase one trials in the UK of a nasal vaccine against coronavirus.
"The sales office is expected to generate new business worth over USD 1 billion, 200 million pounds of which will be invested into the UK," Downing Street said in reference to the company's plans for the UK market on Monday.
"Serum’s investment will support clinical trials, research & development and possibly manufacturing of vaccines. This will help the UK and the world to defeat the coronavirus pandemic and other deadly diseases. Serum has already started phase one trials in the UK of a one-dose nasal vaccine for coronavirus, in partnership with Codagenix INC," it said.
Poonawalla, who is currently in London and had recently hinted at plans to expand vaccine production outside India, described his meetings in the UK as "excellent".
"We shall work even harder and strengthen India’s fight against Covid-19,” he said on Twitter.
In the field of healthcare, another Indian investment highlight includes 59 million pounds by biotech firm Global Gene Corp over the next five years. It will create 110 highly skilled jobs in the UK, mostly based in the R&D centre at Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridge, which is the site of the