HLL arm launches affordable pentavalent, hepatitis B vaccine

HLL Biotech Limited (HBL), a subsidiary of HLL Lifecare Ltd (HLL), has become the first public sector undertaking to launch cost-effective pentavalent vaccine and hepatitis B vaccine in the country.

Lov Verma, secretary in the Union ministry of health and family welfare, launched the new vaccines here today. M Ayyappan, the chairman of HBL, was also present during the occasion.

Verma said the twin launches from HBL was a milestone of the latter's 'Integrated Vaccines Complex' project for producing cost-effective vaccines. This would primarily strengthen the country's immunisation programme.

A considerable number of infants in India who die every year do not have access to the latest pentavalent vaccine.

The Pentahil cost-effective pentavalent vaccine protects these infants from five potentially deadly diseases through a single injection. By launching Pentahil and Hivac-B (hepatitis B vaccine), HBL had filled the crucial gap in the availability of affordable vaccines in the country, the company said.

The pentavalent vaccine (the liquid five-in-one vaccine) gives protection against five diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, hepatitis B and Hib.

The vaccine is one of the recent global initiatives in immunisation drive. Immunisation with pentavalent vaccine till last year had been available in eight states. This year, the Centre aims to cover 12 more states for immunisation with pentavalent vaccines.

As part of National health security, the National Health Policy NHP-2002 envisages not less than 50 per cent of the requirement of vaccines will be sourced from public sector manufacturers.

Chairman of HBL Ayyappan said works on the Integrated Vaccines Complex (IVC) was progressing as per schedule and its commissioning would help HBL roll out other vaccines targeting measles, BCG, rabies (human), etc.