India Still In Hunt For H1N1 Vaccine

Reportedly, the US and Chinese governments have approved H1N1 vaccines for use, which will begin next month. The UK government has also reported that the immunisation program is on tract and is expected to be available for use in October. Regulatory approval for the European vaccine is still to come.

However, India has still to wait till January to determine the safety and efficacy of these vaccines. The Indian Health Ministry has asked pharmaceutical majors to initiate clinical trials. The trial is expected to take place on 800 Indian subject and if successful it will be available in the market by next year. The expected price for the vaccine will be about INR1000.

The government has granted a fund of INR100m to the three major Indian pharmaceutical companies to develop H1N1 flu vaccine. These vaccines will only be available in the latter part of the next year. On the other hand, Serum Institute of India (SII) has come up with a vaccine, which is in animal testing stage.

Dr Rajeev Dhere, senior director of vaccines at SII, said: “We are now about to enter in toxicology and human clinical trials for H1N1. This study would be started by the first week of October and terminated by the second week of November.”