The Hindu Business Line : Shantha Bio offers five-in-one vaccine

Hyderabad April 25 Hyderabad-based Shantha Biotechnics Ltd is all set to unveil its `5-in-one' combination vaccine (pentavalent) soon. The company has already got the manufacturing licence and is currently awaiting the licence to market it.

"We have already sent three batches of the product to the Central Drug Laboratory and are expecting the nod shortly," Mr K.I. Varaprasad Reddy, Managing Director, Shantha Biotechnics, told Business Line here.

The company, which is widely known for its Shavnac B hepatitis vaccine, is looking forward to grab a significant market with the launch of Pentavalent.

"As per the available estimates, there is a requirement of 75 million doses in India alone. We plan to cater to 30 million doses for Unicef exports and 15 million doses for domestic market," Mr Reddy said.

The product may be marketed by June and the price of a single dose could be between Rs 70 and Rs 75, he hinted.

Penatavalent is a combination of hepatitis B, diptheria, pertusis, tetanus and hib vaccines.

R&D Focus

The firm, which spends about 25 per cent of its revenue on R&D (about Rs 30 crore), is also firming up plans to increase its R&D focus. "Our cash burn rate on R&D is very high. Now with the presence of Merieux in Shantha, we are anticipating a three-time hike in our R&D spend. The idea is to make Shantha a global R&D hub," Mr Reddy said.

Last year, French health care major Merieux Alliance had picked up about 60 per cent stake in Shantha after buying the stake from Oman-based financial firms.

To augment its R&D team, the firm plans to hire about 150 scientists this year. The total headcount is currently 1,000 and another 500 would be added over next two years, according to Mr Reddy.

Noticeably, there would be new focus areas. "So far, Shantha has been a vaccine-driven company. Now we will expand into diagnostics. There will be more R&D focus on new generation diagnostic kits for Hep-B, HIV, diabetes, Dengue and other infectious diseases," he explained.

More Stories on : Outlook | Pharmaceuticals | Health

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

Stories in this Section
USFDA nod for Dr Reddy's Zolpidem

Ceat plans sourcing tyres from China, Vietnam

CCL Products' net dips

AIDS patients to protest in front of Abbott Labs

MIC Electronics plans IPO for Rs 76.5 crore

ONGC, OIL renew pact for Assam crude movement

Nalco net profit jumps 52%

EarthTV, Mediascope in pact

Technical training for people affected by Tata Motors project

Shantha Bio offers five-in-one vaccine