Chairman of Poonawalla Group and vaccine production firm Serum Institute of India, Cyrus Poonawalla has denied the claims that he has fled the country, mentioning that he has joined his son Adar and his family in London a few days ago for a routine “summer vacation”, something that he takes every year in May.
While speaking to The Indian Express, Cyrus said that any suggestion that he, or his son, had “left” the country in this time of crisis was “false and malicious”.
He further added, “From the time I can recollect, I have been out of India in May. One wants to take a summer vacation, and this time it is nothing new.”
Adar Poonawalla has been in London for over a month now and has complained that he has received “threats” from politicians and “powerful men” demanding fast delivery of the Covishield vaccine which his company has been producing. He also complained of being called “vilified and blamed” in India. He had also mentioned that it was not possible to ramp up the vaccine production overnight, adding that his company is making all efforts to increase capacity and would “work even harder” to achieve that.
Cyrus had stated that the family’s visit to London was routine. “I used to get Adar, when he was a child, to the UK. His children are now studying abroad, and it is a routine visit that he makes often to the country,” Cyrus said.
“As far as we are concerned, it is an annual holiday time. Almost every year, I am in England attending the Derby in the first week of June,” he added.
Senior Poonawalla further mentioned that the company is searching for some new operations in Europe. He said, “Our production (of Covid19) vaccines is underway in India, and we are looking at some preliminary engagements with manufacturing units in Europe. It is too early to disclose further details.”
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Sources near the Poonawalla family have said that Serum Institute was looking at some places in Ukraine, apart from the UK, to establish new facilities to increase vaccine production.