Punawara, 6 Serum Institutes selected daily by Singapore as “Asian of the Year”

Singapore, December 5 (PTI) Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, is one of six people named “Asians of the Year” by Singapore’s leading daily The Straits Times. is. COVID-19 Battle with a pandemic.

The Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) is working with Oxford University and AstraZeneca, a UK and Swedish pharmaceutical company, to produce the COVID-19 vaccine “Covidshield” and test it in India.

The other five on the list are a Chinese study led by a team that online mapped and published the first complete genome of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that sparked the pandemic. Zhang Yongzhen ”, Admiral Chen Wei, Dr. Ryuichi Morishita of Japan, Professor Ooi Eng Eong at the forefront of vaccine development against viruses in Singapore, and Korean businessman Seo Jung-jin and the world who enable vaccine production and dispensing. Other Covid-19 treatments to.

Collectively called “Virus Busters,” they are a type of hero who has devoted themselves to the imminent cause of solving the coronavirus pandemic.

“Sars-CoV-2, the virus that caused death and suffering on the world’s largest and most populous continent, has encountered its tame at OfficeScan,” the award quote said.

“We pay tribute to your courage, compassion, dedication, and creativity. In this dangerous time, you are a symbol of hope for Asia, in fact the world.”

The Serum Institute was founded in 1966 by Punewara’s father, Cyrus Punewara.

Poonawalla joined the Serum Institute in India in 2001 and became CEO of the Serum Institute in 2011, which takes full control of the company’s day-to-day operations.

Poonawalla said he had invested US $ 250 million in his family’s property to boost the manufacturing capacity of his laboratory.

“I have decided to do my best,” said his company’s COVID-19 vaccine to help supply low- and middle-income countries facing significant disadvantages in their quest to obtain them. The promised Punawara (39) said.

Punawara said his institute is helping poor countries improve access to vaccines.

In the big picture of ending a pandemic, a common purpose is important, says The Straits Times, Singapore’s daily mainstream.

The Straits Times Asian of the Year, like many other individuals in their respective fields, has been a leader. When the end comes to light, it will be due in no small measure to these people who have devoted themselves to the calm and coveted work, without giving in to the turmoil, to put together a plan to escape the crisis for humanity. ..

“There was no day when the pandemic wasn’t in the news this year. The editors of Straits Times felt that this year there would be no better recipient than those who oppose Asia.” The biggest health problem in history, transmission. We have engaged in pioneering and courageous efforts to prevent high-quality viruses from causing more damage, “said Bhagyashree Garekar, a foreign editor at Straits Times, on Saturday.

“In a year ending with a wish for a big reset … Asia’s OfficeScan is the face of hope on the horizon,” Garekar said.

Among them, the 2020 award winners capture the entire trajectory of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In deciding to honor The Virus Busters, Straits Times editors have somehow enabled a complex, multi-step process to prevent many people around the world from getting fatal illnesses in the shortest amount of time. I had in mind the people who made it. Possible.

Warren Fernandez, Editor-in-Chief of Singapore Press Holdings, said: “Every year, ST editors are looking for people, teams, or organizations that not only created or formed the news, but also actively contributed to Asia in the process.’English / Malay / Tamil Media Group And the editor of Straits Times.

“This year, we naturally turned to those involved in the fight against the headline-dominant Covid-19. We’ve had a long and hard discussion, but in the end, the best to find the answer. I agreed with a group of people who worked hard. The crisis caused by the virus.

“They are heterogeneous groups, and their collective efforts have facilitated the search for vaccines, enabling them to be discovered and delivered with an urgency that has never been tried or seen. And the world. ” PTI GS PMS PMS

Disclaimer:- This story has not been edited by Outlook staff and is automatically generated from the news agency feed. Source: PTI