News Analysis India

Tag: Haffkine

  • Haffkine to start manufacturing 22.8 crore Covaxin doses from February 2022

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: Mumbai based Haffkine Biopharma may not be in position to contribute to the Centre’s ambitious projection of nearly 55 crore doses of Covaxin between August-December as it has emerged that the Maharashtra government undertaking could start manufacturing the vaccine only from February next year.

    The works have now begun at the facility to set up an advanced lab with a capacity to manufacture 22.8 crore doses of Covaxin, India’s first and only indigenously developed Covid19 vaccine jointly developed by Bharat Biotech and the National Institute of Virology-ICMR, every year.

    Bharat Biotech, facilitated by the Union government, has signed pacts with three companies–the two being central undertakings BIBCOL and Indian Immunologicals, apart from Haffkine to scale up Covaxin production.

    Government sources told The New Indian Express that a formal MoU between Bharat Biotech and Haffkine, which has received a 64 crore grant from the Centre and 94 crore from Maharashtra, however is still in the process of being signed.

    A statement by the government said that the production will take place at the Parel complex of the company, adding that works have started on war footing to set up a biosafety level 3 lab, required for making a vaccine like Covaxin which is based on inactivated virus.

    Sandeep Rathod, managing director of Haffkine BioPharma said the company plans to produce nearly 2 crore vaccine doses a month, adding that the “company is looking at a timeline of eight months” and the “work is being executed on a war footing”.

    The vaccine production process involves two stages – drug substance and final drug product, the official explained.

    He added that for production of drug substance the firm needs a sophisticated lab, while Haffkine, an offshoot of the 122-year-old Haffkine Institute- one of the oldest biomedical research institutes in the country- already has the fill-finish facility.

    Bharat Biotech which as of now has a production capacity of about 2 crore doses per month for Covaxin, has been able to supply only about 90 lakh doses in May and the same quantity is expected in June.

    The company however has said that it is roping its wholly-owned subsidiary Chiron Behring in Gujarat for quick ramp of the production of Covaxin, by an additional 20 crore doses per year. The plant however will be in position to start producing the vaccine only September onwards.

    Though it is not clear what exactly will be the production capacity of the other two government PSUs, roped in for Covaxin production but given that setting up of BSL 3 level lab alone could take 6-8 months, experts have raised doubts that 55 crore Covaxin doses can be available during the last 5 months of this year.

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  • Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray pushes Haffkine to start research on COVID-19 vaccine

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Considering the situation in Maharashtra, Mumbai-based Haffkine Institute needs to conduct research on a COVID-19 vaccine soon, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Tuesday.

    Thackeray made the comments during a review meeting he held in connection with the Parel-based institute, one of the oldest biomedical research establishments in the country, an official statement said.

    Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh was also present for the meeting.

    The main task of the Haffkine Institute is to produce vaccines for different diseases and carry out research.

    “Hence, priority needs to be given to conduct research on a big scale here in the time to come and the state government will extend all cooperation required for the same, Thackeray said, according to the statement.

    The chief minister said the 121-year-old institute should lay stress on research besides taking efforts to produce a COVID-19 vaccine.

    For this, efforts should be made for COVID-19 vaccine technology transfer from the ICMR and Bharat Biotech (which developed Covaxin), Thackeray said.

    The chief minister said the state government will help in setting up a modern vaccine research centre in the institute in time to come.

    He said it is praiseworthy that the institute, which has played a big role in making India polio-free, produced over 28 crore vaccines in the past six months.

    But considering the situation in the state, it is required that the institute carries out research on a COVID-19 vaccine soon.

    “It will be a matter of pride for all of us if the institute succeeds in producing (COVID-19) vaccine,” Thackeray said.

    The statement said a committee, formed by the government under the chairmanship of renowned scientist Dr Raghunath Mashelkar to suggest a roadmap for reforms at the institute, has talked about the need to allocate Rs 1,100 crore to implement five projects over a period of half a decade.

    According to the statement, Thackeray said the government supports completion of the five projects and asked the authorities to prepare a detailed plan in this connection within the next 15 days.

    The state Medical Education Minister and senior bureaucrats are part of the institute’s governing council.