India has emerged as the world’s largest vaccine producer and global vaccine supplier by volume, while its diverse disease landscape and expanding scientific capabilities provide a strong foundation for vaccine research, epidemic preparedness and the development of biomedical solutions for emerging health threats, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said on Sunday.
Addressing a high-level evening reception for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) Board and Investors Council in New Delhi, Singh said India has moved well beyond the limitations of a decade ago and developed a vibrant bioeconomy, advanced vaccine capabilities and a scientific ecosystem capable of contributing to global preparedness for future epidemics and pandemics.
The reception was jointly hosted by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, and CEPI at the India International Centre. It brought together CEPI leadership, Board and Investors Council members, policymakers, scientists, industry representatives and other stakeholders involved in vaccine development and epidemic preparedness.
The CEPI Board and Investors Council meetings in New Delhi are being held a decade after the organisation’s previous governance meeting in India, reflecting the depth of the partnership between India and CEPI.
India supplies vaccines to more than 100 countries
Singh said India’s transformation in biotechnology is reflected in the rapid growth of its bioeconomy, which reached USD 195.3 billion in 2025, registering 18 per cent year-on-year growth. India’s biotech start-up ecosystem has also expanded to 11,855 startups, including 1,780 new startups established in 2025. The biopharmaceutical sector accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the country’s bioeconomy.
He said India’s capabilities in vaccines now extend beyond affordable manufacturing to research, innovation, advanced biologics development and large-scale production.
India currently supplies vaccines to more than 100 countries, accounts for nearly 60 per cent of global vaccine production and meets more than 65 per cent of WHO’s routine immunisation requirements, according to the minister.
Recalling the COVID-19 pandemic, Singh said India developed vaccines in a remarkably short period and subsequently supplied them to other countries and partners. The experience, he said, significantly changed the global perception of India’s scientific and technological capabilities.
Diverse disease landscape offers research advantage
Singh highlighted India’s heterogeneous disease landscape as a potential scientific advantage for epidemic preparedness.
India faces a wide range of communicable diseases while also dealing with an increasing burden of non-communicable and metabolic disorders. While this presents a complex preparedness challenge, the minister said it also provides a unique environment for studying pathogens, disease patterns and interactions between infectious and metabolic conditions.
He noted that international researchers had historically travelled to India to study viruses, bacteria and diseases that were not commonly found in their own countries.
India can now turn this diversity into a strategic advantage by combining its disease landscape with its growing capabilities in pathogen research, vaccine development and epidemic preparedness, he said.
Singh said India’s scientific talent and the diversity of microbes present in the country give it an opportunity to contribute not only to its own preparedness but also to the global repository of knowledge and biomedical solutions for emerging health threats.
India-CEPI partnership enters next phase
The DBT-BIRAC-CEPI partnership provides a platform for translating India’s scientific capabilities into vaccines and other biomedical interventions.
DBT and BIRAC have been working with CEPI under a tripartite engagement strategy to strengthen preparedness for future epidemics and pandemics and advance India’s research and development capabilities in vaccines for emerging infectious diseases. The engagement, first established in October 2019, was renewed in September 2025 for another five years.
The India-centric Ind-CEPI Mission, implemented by BRIC-THSTI and BIRAC, has already produced several significant outcomes.
These include GEMCOVAC-19, India’s first mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which received Emergency Use Authorisation; an inactivated Chikungunya vaccine candidate currently undergoing Phase II/III clinical trials; and multivalent self-assembled nanocage technology-based vaccine candidates for Monkeypox and pan-sarbecoviruses, which are at an advanced pre-clinical stage.
Shared infrastructure strengthens vaccine development
The partnership has also resulted in the creation of infrastructure with global relevance.
The BRIC-THSTI Bioassay Laboratory has been recognised as one of CEPI’s 17 centralised network laboratories. It has supported eight vaccine candidates at different stages, ranging from pre-clinical development to Phase III efficacy trials, for developers in India and other countries.
The laboratory has tested more than one lakh samples for vaccine development, while the BRIC-THSTI animal facility has also become part of CEPI’s pre-clinical network.
Capacity building has been another key component of the partnership. BRIC-THSTI, in collaboration with CEPI, has conducted advanced vaccinology courses, while the PACT programme has provided online training to more than 2,400 participants from 14 friendly and neighbouring countries, helping strengthen clinical trial capabilities across the region.
Focus on next-generation vaccines and global health security
Singh said the next phase of India-CEPI cooperation should build on these achievements and translate India’s scientific strengths into greater global health impact.
The Ind-CEPI Mission is expected to further strengthen India’s biomedical intervention ecosystem through universal and pan-pathogen vaccine development, advanced biomanufacturing capabilities and wider national and international collaborative networks.
The minister said India is now positioned to contribute its scientific capabilities, research infrastructure and disease diversity to a global preparedness architecture while strengthening its own ability to respond rapidly to emerging health threats.
He stressed that the convergence of cutting-edge science, scalable manufacturing and international partnerships could help India move from preparedness for individual outbreaks towards sustained leadership in next-generation vaccines and biomedical interventions.
Singh also called for greater collaboration among government, academia, industry and international partners to convert scientific capabilities into deployable solutions. He said such engagements should go beyond an exchange of views and foster meaningful collaboration to advance the shared goal of epidemic preparedness.
The New Delhi meeting marked an important milestone in the India-CEPI partnership and provided a platform for advancing cooperation in vaccine innovation, epidemic preparedness and global health security.
