mRNA vaccines are the breakout technology from the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the scientific advances have been decades in the making, the pandemic presented the opportunity for the modality to demonstrate its safety and efficacy in general populations.

This technology also launched companies like Moderna and BioNTech to new highs as their vaccines emerged first on the market, allowing them to attain market dominance. Pfizer and BioNTech alone have delivered close to 1.5 billion doses of their COVID-19 vaccine and forecasts suggest their COVID-19 vaccine sales will reach $33.5 billion in 2021. 

At this juncture, entering the vaccine market is complicated, expensive, and risky for companies. For this reason, French pharma giant, Sanofi announced it would drop its plans for its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine despite obtaining positive trial results. Nevertheless, India’s biotech companies are looking to capitalize on this market in lower and middle-income countries that Pfizer and Moderna have overlooked.