First indigenous vaccine against Pneuomonia developed by Serum Institute of India; to be launched next week

24-12-2020

Upholding the status of being the largest vaccine producer in the world, India now has an indigenous vaccine against Pneumonia as well. The first Indian vaccine against Pneumonia has been developed by the Serum Institute of India. The vaccine will soon be launched by the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, and will also be made available in the domestic markers as early as next week, sources confirmed on Wednesday. While India does have access to pneumonia vaccines, the locally developed vaccine is likely to be much cheaper than the two foreign ones in use. Vaccines produced by Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) are currently used in India for immunization against pneumonia. India's drug regulator in July had granted market approval for the Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate vaccine, after reviewing the phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trial data submitted by the Pune-based firm. This vaccine is used for active immunisation against invasive disease and pneumonia caused by "Streptococcus pneumonia" in infants, the health ministry had said earlier. The phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials of the vaccine have been conducted in India and African nation Gambia. "This is the first indigenously developed vaccine in the field of pneumonia," an official source said, news agency reported. "It has always been our endeavour to fulfil our prime minister's dream for 'vocal for local' and 'Making in India' for the world. "Moving towards prime minister's clarion call of Atmanirbhar Bharat, we have achieved one more historical milestone during the lockdown period of COVID-19 pandemic by developing India's first world-class indigenous pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and obtained Indian licensure," stated a letter written by Prakash Kumar Singh, Additional Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Serum Institute of India (SII) addressed to Vardhan. Pneumonia is a very common health problem in India. As per UNICEF data, more than one lakh children under the age of five years die every year in the country due to the pneumococcal disease. Since pneumonia is a respiratory ailment, hence vaccination of children with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) assumes utmost significance during the current COVID-19 pandemic, an official source said. The country is currently dependent on imported PCV of foreign manufacturers at a very high price, the source said.