The Hindu Business Line : GlaxoSmithKline to meet meningitis vaccine demand in Delhi

IN order to combat the meningitis outbreak in and around Delhi, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pharmaceuticals has decided to bring in 50,000 doses of vaccine from its plant in Belgium.

Speaking to newspersons, Mr Sumer Dheri, General Manager-Biologicals, said: "Due to the urgency, we have managed to get fast track clearances from the Drug Controller General of India. These vaccines will be available in the market in the next two days." The company has supplied about 10,000 doses in the last few days.

He further added that the company would be able to supply as much as one million doses in a week's time. The price of its Mencevax ACWY is about Rs 900 per dose. "The pricing structure hasn't changed since launch three years ago," said Mr Dheri. The company has a multi-dose vaccine, which is priced about Rs 150 lower than the single dose drug.

GSK has been supplying close to 1.5 lakh doses of vaccines to the Government for various programmes. "Depending on the volume of demand by the Government, the prices are fixed," he added.

Currently, besides GSK, Aventis Pasteur and Biomedics are manufacturing vaccines, which are priced between Rs 350-900 depending on the number of viral strains that it addresses.

Meanwhile, Dr Arvind Taneja, Director and Chief of Paediatrics, Max Healthcare, said that vaccination is proven to be the best way to prevent the spread of the disease and control outbreaks. "Earlier, these were given only to Haj travellers, student heading towards the US, Europe and Australia for higher studies and travellers to meningitis belt in Australia," he added.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page