Serum Institute of India's CEO Adar Poonawalla has been named among six people as "Asians of the Year" by Singapore's leading daily, The Straits Times
Bengaluru: Serum Institute of India's CEO Adar Poonawalla has been named among six people as "Asians of the Year" by Singapore's leading daily, The Straits Times for their work in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported by news agency PTI.
The world's largest vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) has collaborated with the University of Oxford and the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for making the COVID-19 vaccine, 'Covidshield', and is conducting trials in India.
The five others who made to the list are Chinese researcher Zhang Yongzhen, who led the team that mapped and published online the first complete genome of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that sparked the pandemic, China's Major-General Chen Wei, Japan's Ryuichi Morishita, and Singapore's Professor Ooi Eng Eong, who are among those at the forefront of developing vaccines against the virus, and South Korean businessman Seo Jung-jin whose company will enable the making and dispensing of the vaccines and other Covid-19 treatments to the world.
The six people on the list have been collectively referred to as "the virus busters", they are heroes of a kind, having devoted themselves to the pressing cause of resolving the coronavirus pandemic, each in their own capacity.
"Sars-CoV-2, the virus that has brought death and hardship to the world's largest and most populous continent, is meeting its tamer in The Virus Busters," the award citation said.
"We salute your courage, care, commitment and creativity. In this peril-filled hour, you are a symbol of hope for Asia, indeed the world."
Adar Poonawalla's father Cyrus Poonawalla in 1966 had founded the Serum Institute.
Adar Poonawalla became the CEO of Serum Institute with complete control of the day-to-day operations of the company in 2011
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