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Microsoft co-founder and Trustee of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates says Indian pharmaceutical market can produce COVID-19 vaccines not just for the India but also they have the capacity to make a production of vaccine for the entire world.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a partner with the government, particularly with the department of biotechnology, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the office of the principal scientific advisor provide advice and help about getting these tools going. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have been active since long in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on health-related issues and have done health delivery.

Bill Gates stated while making Discovery Plus documentary ‘COVID-19: India’s War Against The Virus’. The documentary starts making when the number of coronavirus patients increasing dramatically. Gates also said that India faces a huge challenge due to the health crisis due to its gigantic size and urban centres with a lot of population density.

He said, “India has a lot of capacity there — with the drug and vaccine companies that are huge suppliers to the entire world. You know, more vaccines are made in India than anywhere– starting with Serum Institute, that’s the largest.”

Further, he said, “But (there are) also Bio E, Bharat (Biotech), many others. They are doing work to help make the coronavirus vaccine, building on other great capacities that they have used for other diseases.” Gates later said, “I am excited that the pharmaceutical industry there will be able to produce not just for India but also for the entire world. (This is) What we need to reduce the deaths and make sure we are immune, which is how we end the epidemic.”

Dr. Balram Bhargava, Director General of ICMR claimed that around 60% of drugs utilised in US are of Indian origin. “Any vaccine candidate which is being produced or developed in any part of the world will ultimately have to be scaled up by India or by China. Because these two countries are major producers of vaccines in the world and India supplies 60 percent of vaccines to the world that all developed nations are aware of it. And therefore, they are in communication with India for the vaccine distribution ultimately, if it is developed to the whole world,” Bhargava said.