Serum Institute of India’s, Executive Director Dr Suresh Jadhav dies at 72.
Dr Suresh Jadhav Executive Director of Serum Institute of India (SII) has passed away at the age of 72 in Pune after a long illness. 
Dr Suresh Jadhav, one of the top executive directors of Serum Institute of India (SII), passed away late on Tuesday night at the age of 72. Jadhav died of renal failure and other allied ailments. Jadhav passed away at Sahyadri Hospital and is survived by his wife and two children.
Born in a small village in Vidarbha, Dr Jadhav had completed his degree from Nagpur University. He was associated with SII since 1979, Dr Jadhav largly looked after manufacturing and quality control at the company.
Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman and managing director of Serum Institute of India, expressed sadness at the loss and said Jadhav was the international face of SII.
Jadhav has been with SII for over four decades, playing a key role in building SII as the world’s largest vaccine producer. Dr Jadhav was instrumental in setting up the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturing Network.
“The @SerumInstIndia family and the Indian vaccine industry have lost a guiding light, with the passing of Dr Suresh Jadhav. My prayers are with his family during these trying times and I thank you all, for your condolences,” Serum Institute of India’s (SII) chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla said.
He come up with vaccine research in India. He also made his mark on the world stage. He represented the SII on the GAVI board and was also influential in the liaison between the national and international regulatory authorities. He played a pivotal role in getting WHO pre-qualification of several products.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, the chief scientist at WHO, tweeted, “Very sad news. Exceptional lifetime contributions to vaccine development with a huge impact on lives saved.”
He made remarable contributions to the research on the Covid-19 vaccine. Dr Jadhav was involved in the development of the Covishield vaccine on Covid-19.
Prior to SII, Jadhav had worked in academics for a decade starting with a research fellowship of CSIR in 1970. He held academic positions at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagpur; S.N.D.T. University and Haffkine Institute, Mumbai.
