Mahima Datla's city-based company took one step further in the elite league today.
US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Chief Operating Officer (COO) David Marchick and Biological E Limited Managing Director Mahima Datla today kicked off the expansion of Biological E's vaccine manufacturing facility in Hyderabad to produce COVID-19 vaccines, and finalized a US government financing arrangement formalizing $50 million for the effort.
This work is part of the Quad Vaccine Partnership.
US Charg? d'Af-faires Patricia Lacina, US Consul General Joel Reifman, Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary Vani Rao, Telangana Principal Secretary of IT & Industries Jayesh Ranjan, Japanese Consul General Taga Ma-sayuki and Australian Consul General Sarah Kirlew participated in the event in the city.
"DFC's partnership with Biological E will support capacity for production of more than one billion vaccine doses by the end of 2022 for India and for developing countries around the world," said David Marchick, Chief Operating Officer, DFC. "Today's agreement represents a model of the close collaboration among countries that will be essential to achieve President Biden's goal of ending the pandemic in 2022. Scaling Biological E's new facility, which is already producing vaccines, will help close the vaccine gap and save lives in developing countries."
"We are pleased with the financial support from the US government, especially DFC, which was announced at the Quad Summit in March 2021," said Mahima Datla, Managing Director, Biological E. "This investment will not only help us augment our capacity to produce more COVID-19 vaccines, but also help the global community that has been relentlessly fighting against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic."
DFC's investment in Biological E Limited is part of the agency's Global Health and Prosperity Initiative which is focused on supporting the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthening health resilience in developing countries. Through the initiative, DFC is working to catalyze $5 billion in projects that bolster health systems, support infrastructure development, and expand access to clean water, sanitation, and nutrition.
Several US government agencies, including DFC, the Department of Health and Human Services, the US Agency for International Development and the National Security Council, have worked together to sup-port Biological E's manufacturing. DFC and Biological E have also collaborated with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI), which provided early research and technical support for the company's COVID vaccine efforts.