Bioreactor bags are SII’s critical input under export ban

Under the Defense Production Act, invoked by former US President Donald Trump, several critical supplies of Covid-19 therapeutics including vaccines face export bans.

Among them are giant plastic bags called bioreactor bags needed to manufacture and process vaccines. These are made by a handful of companies — US firms ABEC and GE Healthcare and Germany’s Thermofisher.

The bags made in the US have now been cornered by US-based vaccine makers Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J.


The bioreactor bags are used to grow cells needed to manufacture vaccine doses. This is a complex biological process and these bags maintain a high quality sterilised environment.

Serum Institute has been importing these bags from the US and Europe. Adar Poonawalla and SII have appealed to the US to lift the ban on this critical input.