Serum Institute Executive Director Dr Suresh Jadhav passes away

Pune: Serum Institute of India (SII) Executive Director Dr. Suresh Jadhav has passed away at the age of 72 in Pune, Maharashtra after a long illness. Dr. Jadhav was instrumental in the development of the Covishield vaccine on Covid-19.

Taking to Twitter, World Health Organization's Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan expressed her condolences over the demise of Dr. Jadhav. She said, Dr. Jadhav made exceptional lifetime contributions to vaccine development with a huge impact on lives saved.

Expressing grief, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, the Chairman and Managing Director of Serum Institute of India, said Dr. Jadhav was the international face of SII. He said, Dr. Jadhav was instrumental in setting up the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturing Network. Dr. Jadhav represented Serum Institute of India on the GAVI board and was also instrumental in the liaison between the



national and international regulatory authorities. He played a pivotal role in getting WHO pre-qualifications of several products.

SII CEO Adar Poonawalla also expressed his condolences and tweeted that the Serum Institute of India family and the Indian vaccine industry has lost a guiding light, with the passing of Dr. Suresh Jadhav.

Born in a small village in Vidarbha, Dr. Jadhav holds a degree from Nagpur University. He made significant contributions to the research on the Covid-19 vaccine.

Dr. Jadhav also made his mark on the world stage. He held several patents around the world. Dr. Jadhav's experience in vaccine research stretches forty years. The pharmaceutical sector has also expressed grief saying that Dr. Jadhav's departure has caused great damage to the Indian medical sector.