Thaindian News

Pune, June 13 (IANS) India’s vaccine major, the Serum Institute, has pledged support to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) programme by announcing a 60 percent cut in the prices of pentavalent vaccine, a company statement said here Monday.

The announcement was made by Serum Institute’s chairman and managing director Cyrus Poonawalla at a gathering of international healthcare agencies and global donors in London Monday.

Reiterating his company’s commitment to slash the prices of pentavalent - which helps protect children against five potential killers - diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza type B - he said the vassine would be now available at the lowest possible cost of Rs.100 ($1.75) only.

The price cut would be in line with Serum Institute’s philanthropic philosophy in the field of children’s health in developing countries and would help GAVI’s mission by making vaccines available at the lowest affordable price to Unicef and Pan American Health Organisation.

Poonawalla emphasized the Serum Institute’s commitment and moral responsibility to keep these vaccines as affordable as possible.

Addressing GAVI’s fund-raising conference for global immunization programs, Poonawalla said: “The very genesis of Serum Institute was a quest to make vaccines more affordable for the common man.”

“The partnership with GAVI serves as a good platform for us to reach out to those poor nations and bring comfort to the millions of underprivileged across the globe,” Poonawalla remarked at the conference, which plans to raise $3.7 billion and immunise 243 million children around the world.

Poonawalla expressed the hope that other pharmaceutical giants would follow in its steps to make vaccines available at more affordable prices, “otherwise our effort to offer vaccines at lower prices will be defeated”.

He also urged global donors to ensure long-term funding beyond 2015, and consider the boon of vaccination for children in the most vulnerable countries.

He revealed that Serum Institute is also developing affordable vaccines for GAVI against rotavirus and pneumococcal diseases, for which it hopes to get World Health Organisation pre-qualification soon.

The Geneva-based public-private partnership - GAVI Alliance - set up by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, aims at improving health in the world’s poorest countries.

It brings together the developing country and donor governments, the WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry in both industrialized and developing countries, research and technical agencies, civil society and other private philanthropists.

GAVI support consists of providing life-saving vaccines and strengthening health-systems.

In the past decade since it was founded, GAVI has financed immunization of more than 288 million children and prevented more than 5 million premature deaths.

The Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest DTP (Triple) and measles vaccine manufacturer, with exports to over 130 countries.