A COVID-19 second wave is wreaking havoc in India but pharma appears to be holding things together for now, stretching resources amid a dip in personnel attendance and supply chain strains. Limited vaccine supplies, a spurt in API prices and an inevitable third wave could mean further turbulence ahead.

After setting up a sales base in the UK, Serum Institute could consider an acquisition in Europe or investment in an Oxford facility as it ties up production for its multiple COVID-19 vaccines. Is Wockhardt’s Wrexham facility an option?

The World Health Organization has updated progress with evaluations of two Chinese vaccines and Russia's Sputnik V, the UK has ordered 60 million more Pfizer/BioNTech doses, and the European Medicines Agency is looking at the use of baricitinib in COVID-19 patients requiring oxygen.

A high profile panel including the WHO's chief scientist and ministers of Norway and South Africa discussed critical dimensions pertaining to coronavirus vaccines and risks of a “pandemic within a pandemic” with the emergence of  SARS-CoV-2 variants. Funding gaps at the ACT Accelerator and extending the shelf life of vaccines were also deliberated.