Net worth 2018: $9.1 b
Some of its vaccines are as affordable as ₹5 a dose — that’s lower than the price of a cup of tea in India. This has been shaving off the company’s margins by 20-30% every year as tenders turn competitive. Yet it retained some of its biggest customers like the Indian government, WHO, UNICEF and GAVI.
“By selling some of our vaccines at ₹5 [a dose] we often sell at a loss. On average, margins are 20-30 percent, he says, which sometimes fall to 5 percent,” Adar Poonawalla, CEO, SII says.
Serum also promised to cut down the cost of penta-valent vaccines — that protect against diseases like diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) — by 60%. According to Serum, these penta valent vaccines are priced at ₹100 (close to $1.75).
Navigating the complex business of vaccines was not Cyrus Poonawala’s first idea. At the age of 20, he was hoping to manufacture racing cars. He even built a $120 prototype modeled on the Jaguar D-Type. But he soon realised that wasn’t feasible. A chance meeting with a veterinarian who worked at his family’s stud farm triggered an idea to produce affordable vaccines.