The dashing and dynamic CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII), Adar Poonawalla is among the “emerging leaders” from across the world named by Fortune in its prestigious, annual list of ‘40 Most Influential People Under The Age Of 40’.

The 2020 Fortune 40 Under 40 list highlights 40 influential people each in the five categories –  ‘Technology’, ‘Healthcare’, ‘Finance’, ‘Media and Entertainment’, and ‘Government and Politics’ from across the world.

Fortune praised Adar Poonawalla’s debut in the coveted list, with, “Few people on the planet are more in demand right now than Poonawalla. He is the CEO of his family-owned company SII, which is the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines.”

“This year, of course, has been far from normal. With the race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 in full swing, SII, with its enormous manufacturing capacity, has been an obvious place for pharma companies to turn. SII has inked deals with both AstraZeneca and Novavax, committing to manufacture one billion doses of each vaccine, priced at $3 a shot, for low- and middle-income countries. The pharma company has expanded its geographical reach in recent years by acquiring production facilities in Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands and is also working to develop COVID-19 vaccines itself,” added Fortune.

Other young guns from India to feature on the coveted list were Byju Raveendran, Co-founder of India’s leading education technology company Byju’s; and Reliance Jio Board Directors – Isha and Akash Ambani.