Cyrus Poonawalla

{ "bio": [ "Son of a horse breeder, Cyrus Poonawalla founded Serum Institute of India in 1966 and built it into the world's largest vaccine maker (by doses).", "Headquartered in Pune city, close to Mumbai, Serum produces over 1.5 billion doses annually of a range of vaccines, including for measles, polio and flu.", "Under his U.K.-educated son Adar, Serum's CEO, the company invested $800 million at the peak of the pandemic to build a new factory in Pune to make Covid-19 vaccines.", "Poonawalla's assets include a majority stake in listed financial services firm Poonawalla Fincorp as well as a stake in The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Pune.", "In 2023, his son Adar bought Aberconway House, a mansion in London's Mayfair, for 138 million pounds." ], "about": [ "Son Adar, featured in Forbes Asia's Heroes of Philanthropy list, is one of the brand ambassadors for the government's 'Clean India' mission.", "Poonawalla has an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Oxford, which is constructing the Cyrus Poonawalla Vaccines Research Building.", "Serum's Covishield, the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, was the most widely used in India during the pandemic.", "In 2022, Poonawalla was conferred the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors." ] }