New Delhi, August 29: Even as the first batches of swine flu vaccine rolled out on Friday from US based Baxter International Inc, there was hardly anything to cheer for India as the starting batches of the vaccine have long been booked by other countries.
After the first batch supplies to the British health network, the later batches from Baxter and other pharma companies will go to US and UK who are trying to pre-empt another wave of the deadly flu by stockpiling the vaccine.
However, India’s quest for the H1N1 vaccine seems far from over as the government has not inked any pre-booking agreement with Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline or any others.
To complicate the situation, India’s indigenous vaccine may not be ready before May 2010. The lackadaisical attitude of the government is worrisome considering the fact that swine flu toll in India has reached 90 with many others affected.
Swine flu: Worldwide toll over 2,100The government has also not placed any orders with domestic manufacturers — Serum Institute, Panacea Biotec and Bharat Biotec which are developing the vaccine. (Cadila Pharma is also developing a vaccine in collaboration with US company Novavax).
–Agencies