Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, May 08, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version | Audio
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, May 08, 2008 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version | Audio |
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Industry & Economy
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Pharmaceuticals Web Extras - Health Private vaccine makers step in to plug shortfall Three public sector vaccine manufacturing units were told to suspend production for not adhering to the Good Manufacturing Practice norms. P.T. Jyothi Datta Mumbai, May 7 Private vaccine makers are shoring up their capacities to help plug the shortfall of vaccines that could arise in the Universal Immunisation Programme, after the Centre asked three public sector vaccine manufacturing units to stop production earlier this year. The Centre has sounded out vaccine makers such as Serum Institute, Shanta Biotech and Biological E to beef up their capacities to help cover the shortfall, a pharmaceutical industry official familiar with the development told Business Line. The immunisation programme includes the BCG, DPT and measles vaccines, besides the oral polio vaccine. Private vaccine companies have enough capacity to meet the world’s demand for vaccines, said one industry-hand, adding that the discussion at present rested on pricing. While a Union Health Ministry official admitted that measles and BCG shortages are being reported from different States, they point out that private participation is not new to the immunisation programme. Every year the Centre goes through a tender process to get its vaccine supplies. And the immunisation programme is supplied by public sector units and private companies, a source familiar with the development said. Private vaccine makers supply products to the Government at the same cost as the PSUs, the source said, citing the example of the DPT vaccine. About 120 million to 160 million doses of DPT are required for the immunisation programme at the price of between Rs 1.50 to 1.80 a dose, he indicated. This is about one-tenth the price at which private players sell in the local market and export, the industry representative said. The Centre had sent letters to private companies in January after the then Drug Controller General of India had cancelled production licences of the Central Research Institute (Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh), Pasteur Institute of India (Coonoor, Tamil Nadu) and Chennai’s BCG Vaccine Laboratory. They were asked to suspend production for not adhering to the Good Manufacturing Practice norms.
And as the Centre tries to keep the vaccine short supply from slowing the immunisation programme, doctors caution that the programme could take a beating on the image front as well. Stopping vaccine production by three Government institutions, followed by another incident where children died in Tamil Nadu after they were vaccinated for measles, could have an adverse impact on the immunisation programme, said a paediatrician. These incidents should be a wake-up call for the Centre to ensure that the immunisation programme is secured at different levels. Besides the obvious cold-chain that ensures vaccines are stored at the temperature that keeps them efficacious, the Centre should train medical personnel to administer vaccines correctly, use disposable syringes and have the knowledge and equipment to handle resuscitation, said Dr Tanu Singhal, a consultant at Mumbai’s Hinduja Hospital and Convenor of the Indian Paediatric Association’s Committee on Immunisation. There are standard operating procedures to handle allergies to vaccines, she said, stressing that immunisation should not suffer because of unfortunate incidents in Tamil Nadu that are being investigated by the Centre. More Stories on : Pharmaceuticals | Health
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