After two Indian vaccine makers, Serum Institute of India and Cadila Healthcare joined the fight against COVID-19, Bharat Biotech may follow suit. Others like Hilleman have decided against it for the moment while Panacea Biotech is weighing the pros and cons of developing a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine after a sour experience with H1N1.

Experts including renowned virologist Peter Piot, FDA’s Peter Marks and CEPI’s Richard Hatchett discussed multiple dimensions pertaining to coronavirus variants and existing vaccines at a recent conference, noting enhanced post-deployment surveillance is underway in the US. While there’s no need to panic for every variant that emerges, equitable access to vaccines is critical to ensure that gains made over last year are not undone, they said.

Merck & Co. executive outlines how the company could sustain a “compliant supply performance” amid the pandemic, while senior officials from Sun Pharma, Cipla, Zydus Cadila and Biocon shared insights on coping with supply chain turbulence and moving away from over-dependence on China for starting materials.