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BL Research Bureau

Panacea Biotec’s $34.2 million (approx. Rs 143 crore) order from UNICEF is expected to boost the vaccine maker’s second half earnings. Panacea clocked sales of Rs 849 crore last year.

The stock rose nearly 2 per cent on the BSE in a weak Mumbai market.

Panacea will be supplying doses of liquid pentavalent vaccine (prevents five diseases: Diphtheria, Whole Cell Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type b) to the voluntary funded agency from its New Delhi vaccines formulation facility.

The first vaccines will be shipped from September-October onwards and major impact may be seen starting from the third quarter of 2008-09 i.e. October-December.

Panacea, which draws more than 75 per cent of its revenues from vaccines, will be part of the vaccine delivery programme that is going to begin from October 2008 and will be completed in December 2009.

The Pentavalent vaccine market is estimated to cross $1 billion and UN agencies are likely to procure more than 35 per cent of it by 2009. The Government of India may also introduce similar products in their immunisation programme.

Combination vaccines increase vaccination rates and make parents more willing to let children get all the shots they need in one visit, rather than scheduling multiple appointments, which can lead to late vaccinations.

Opportunity for pentavalent vaccines is higher in developing countries.

Combination vaccines enjoy EBITDA margins of over 35 per cent and this UNICEF order may aid Panacea’s margins, which stood at 27 per cent in 2007-08.

Panacea, in July, had announced WHO pre-qualification for their paediatric combination vaccine — EasyFive — implying global acceptability of this vaccine by various UN procuring agencies.

Its two other combination vaccines (EasyFour and Ecovac) have also been accorded approval in January this year.

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