Intervet may drag Venkateshwara to court

Animal vaccines major Intervet International, a part of the euro13 bilion Dutch multinational Akzo Nobel, is contemplating legal action against the domestic poultry major Venkateshwara Hatcheries (VH) for the latter's statement alleging that Intervet's vaccine for Avian Influenza was banned for use in the Netherlands itself.

Indicating this at a press conference here today, Sushil Nimse, executive director of Intervet India, said the Indian subsidiary has written to the company's headquarters about a possible legal action against "certain derogatory and untrue statements" made by VH's top officials during the ongoing controversy over the recent outbreak of bird flue. "Legal proceedings may be one among the many steps we take to defend our position in the current situation," he said.

While reacting to the talks of importing bird flue drug from Intervet, VH Chairperson Anuradha Desai was reported to have said the company's drug should not be used as it is banned in many places including its home country, the Netherlands.

Nimse, however, did not disclose any further details as the company is still waiting for guidance from the parent organisation in the Netherlands.

Intervet India Managing Director Lino Componovo said the drug, developed 20 years ago when Avian Influenza was not even heard of in India, is widely used to vaccinate birds across countries like Hong Kong, Japan and Indonesia.

"France recently administered 12 million doses of the drug under its immunisation programme," he said.

Componovo said Intervet has raised serious objections to the media campaign undertaken by the National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC) as some of the statements are extremely damaging to Intervet's reputation.

He said the company has communicated to the Indian government about its objections and sought its intervention in the matter.

Componovo asserted that the vaccine, supplied by Intervet, is not a 'live' one and, as such, there is no question of the vaccine bringing into India a disease that did not exist till recently.

In fact, the supply of vaccines by Intervet took place in December under a special contract between the Indian government and Intervet Netherlands for 1.5 million of avian influenza drug doses, he claimed, adding there was no sign of the disease at that time. "The doses were perhaps ordered as part of the government's preparedness in case bird flu broke out," Componovo said.