Hilleman Labs extends thermostable technology to more vaccines

Hilleman Laboratories, the New Delhi-based global vaccine research and development organisation formed through a joint venture partnership between Merck & Co and Wellcome Trust, has announced the extension of its thermostable formulations to other vaccines, reaffirming its promise towards closing the immunisation gap in India.
 
Hilleman Laboratories’ unique technology has shown remarkable advancement towards containing the life-threatening disease by creating safer and more effective vaccines. With this move, the company plans to support India’s aim of achieving 90% coverage through its expanded program by 2020.
 
Last year, Hilleman Laboratories had initiated research and development of thermostable formulations of oral rotavirus vaccine, which offered longer stability of the vaccine even in varying temperature across diverse environment. The development of a combination of highly thermostable vaccine as well as cheap and easy-to-administer delivery has made the rotavirus program an important initiative. Hilleman Laboratories now endeavours to replicate this achievement to other vaccine programs for improved affordability as well as increased access.
 
Dr Davinder Gill, CEO, Hilleman Laboratories, said, “India is the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines, but it is really sad that the country has the largest number of unimmunised children at close to 7 million. The current state of immunisation in the country is quite heterogeneous, with different states having achieved varying levels of protection through vaccination. The country needs a consistent access to technology which can help immunise children against fatal diseases.”
 
While commending Government of India’s initiative, Mission Indradhanush, Hilleman Laboratories believes it can play a key role in supporting this program through its robust heat stabilizing technology that will help in distributing life-saving vaccines without the requirement of large bulk shipments, expensive warehousing and costly, difficult-to-maintain refrigerated shipping paths from the manufacturing plant to the patient.
 
“However, the road to immunity is not free from obstacles. The major challenges characterising immunisation in India are accessibility and affordability. Many isolated parts of the states do not have access to vaccines and are therefore highly susceptible to vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs). Besides, lack of trained manpower, infrastructure and well-equipped logistics hinders effective implementation of full coverage plans,” added Dr Gill.
 
Hilleman Laboratories aims to not only increase access but also make vaccines affordable. In this, the company calls for cooperation and support from vaccine manufacturers and also like-minded stakeholders who can together work towards a cost-effective solution. Hilleman has been consistently working in this direction with the aim of bridging existing gaps in a significant way.