India and Netherlands ink pact to jointly develop vaccines

India and Netherlands yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for development of vaccines. The MoU signed under ‘Make in India’ initiative of Government of India will enable the Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation Ltd (BIBCOL), a central PSU under Department of Biotechnology (DBT), to develop Measles-Rubella vaccine at its plant at Chola, Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh.
 
Translational Vaccinology (Intravacc), a government-based institute of the Netherlands, will extend technical support for the development of vaccine. Intravacc, an institute which is part of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport of the Netherlands, is internationally renowned for vaccine development and has a long history in technology transfer.
 
Under the MoU, two countries will also explore the possibility of jointly developing more vaccines and biologicals in which DBT research institutes will be involved.  
 
Bharat Immunologicals was established as a PSU in 1989, with the aim to achieve self-sufficiency for the nation with respect to production and supply of high quality polio vaccine and other biologicals. It has supplied billions of doses of oral polio vaccine to India’s immunisation programme and has played a major role in making India ‘polio free’. Under the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government, BIBCOL has embarked on journey to acquire technology and production capabilities for production of Measles-Rubella vaccine with the support of Department of Biotechnology.
 
Dr M K Bhan, chairman, BIBCOL, commented that this important collaboration between BIBCOL and Intravacc will pave the way for manufacture of high quality affordable vaccines, beginning with Measles and Rubella vaccine, and then take on the production of the other needed vaccines for the Immunization Programmes of India and other developing countries in the world.