Page 6 - Vaccine

Mpox vaccines maybe months away even as WHO, Africa CDC discuss emergency

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared public health emergency of continental concern for first time ever, and today, a WHO-led panel meets to decide if it represents global threat

SC dismisses plea for centre-wise data of anti-diarrhoea vaccine trial

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking centre-wise data of the clinical trial of anti-diarrhoea vaccine Rotavac, saying it cannot sit in appeal over the decision taken by an expert committee on the issue. Rotavirus vaccine, Rotavac, claims that it protects children from viruses, which are the leading cause of severe diarrhoea among them. A bench of justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan passed the order while hearing a plea seeking directions to the Centre and others to make public the "segregated data" on the results of third phase of clinical trial of Rotavac involving 6,799 infants. The plea had stated the trials were conducted at three centres at Delhi, Pune and Vellore to gauge the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. It had claimed that the data should have been examined by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) in "public interest but such is the secrecy surrounding it, it has not been provided even to this apex body". During the hearing

Acquisition of BSV to aid future growth of Mankind Pharma: V-C Juneja

The acquisition of Bharat Serums and Vaccines would add a lot of value, aiding future growth of Mankind Pharma, according to Vice Chairman and Managing Director Rajeev Juneja. On July 25, Mankind had announced that it will fully acquire Bharat Serums and Vaccines (BSV) from Advent International for an enterprise value of around Rs 13,630 crore. "One thing should be very clear, this acquisition is not to really add some kind of revenue, but to add a lot of value, future growth, entry barrier, super specialty business in Mankind," Juneja said in an analyst call. Whatever the company is paying for BSV, it is very relevant as the company has "so much of value" with well established business, he said. The acquisition is in line with the company's strategy of buying high entry barrier businesses, he stated. The buyout will solidify Mankind's position with complementary drug portfolio and extensive reach to target rapidly growing highly under-penetrated markets, especially in fertility,

Vaccine developer Sinergium to share bird flu vaccine data globally: WHO

Until now, the WHO has assisted partners but this is the first time one of them with a vaccine in development has volunteered to share it with others

Shutting down vaccine PSUs will erode capabilities further, says Congress

The Congress on Friday hit out at the government over the Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation Limited (BIBCOL) reportedly facing a "grim future", and said shutting down vaccine PSUs will only erode the country's capabilities further. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a media report which claimed that the BIBCOL factory in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr, that was at the forefront of India's fight against polio before, hasn't produced a single vaccine since December 2022. "Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation (BIBCOL) was set up in the late 1980s, at the personal initiative of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, to make India self-sufficient in the production of oral polio vaccines. It was my good fortune to have been associated with its establishment at Bulandshahr in UP as part of the technology mission on immunisation," Ramesh said in a post on X. But BIBCOL now faces a "grim future in the era of the non-biological PM", h

Mankind Pharma acquires Bharat Serums and Vaccines for Rs 13,600 crore

More than 2,500 BSV employees will be joining Mankind

India may have dengue vaccine by 2026; Takeda initiates clinical trials

Takeda follows a dual pricing strategy in both private and public markets, and as such, prices in the private market are higher in Europe than in Asian markets

Decoded: Who are zero-dose children and what does the Unicef report mean?

Acc to the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef immunisation report, India follows Nigeria in having the highest number of unvaccinated children, with 1.6 million zero-dose kids in 2023

Culling, surveillance but no vaccine strategy to fight 'bird flu'

Experts said as India falls on the one of main pathways that migratory birds take to move between continents, its water bodies are always prone to the spread of influenza from birds

Pan India rollout of U-WIN to track routine vaccinations likely by Aug end

The U-WIN portal, a replication of the Covid-19 vaccine management system Co-WIN, is set for a pan-India launch likely by the end of August, aiming to maintain an electronic registry of routine immunisations, official sources said. Currently, U-WIN is in pilot mode across all states and Union Territories, except for West Bengal, which is yet to start uploading data, the sources told PTI, adding that it is still under consideration in the state. The U-WIN platform captures every vaccination event for pregnant women and children under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP). Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in the interim Budget for 2024-2025 that U-WIN, along with intensified efforts under Mission Indradhanush, will be rolled out nationwide for managing immunisation. "The U-WIN will ensure timely administration of vaccine doses by digitally recording every vaccination event under the Universal Immunisation Programme among all pregnant women and children aged 0

As Covid-19 ticks up, US advisers recommend a fall vaccination campaign

With fresh COVID-19 cases bubbling up in some parts of the country, health officials are setting course for a fall vaccination campaign. An influential government advisory panel on Thursday recommended new shots for all Americans this fall. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must endorse the recommendation. Officials acknowledged the need for vaccinations is not as dire as it was only a few years ago. Most Americans have some degree of immunity from being infected, from past vaccinations or both. COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations last month were at about their lowest point since the pandemic first hit the United States in 2020. But immunity wanes, new coronavirus variants keep emerging and there are still hundreds of COVID-19-associated deaths and thousands of hospitalizations reported each week. What's more, health officials have reported upticks this month in COVID-19-associated emergency room visits and hospitalizations, and a pronounced increase i

AstraZeneca's Imfinzi fails in late-stage trial to treat lung cancer cases

Imfinzi is a human monoclonal antibody, which works to block a tumour's ability to evade and dampen the immune system, while also boosting the body's anti-cancer immune response

Bharat Bio moves to include ICMR as co-owner in patent filings for Covaxin

As firm corrects 'inadvertent' mistake, experts feel it's not uncommon to add new parties to patent filings

Bharat Biotech moves to adds ICMR as co-owner of Covid-19 vaccine patent

Bharat Biotech was working on developing the Covid-19 vaccine as a top priority to ensure product availability at the earliest

Macron, African leaders push for vaccines after Covid exposes inequalities

French President Emmanuel Macron joined several African leaders on Thursday to kick off a planned $1 billion project to accelerate the rollout of vaccines in Africa, after the coronavirus pandemic exposed gaping inequalities in access to them. The launch of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, which will provide financial incentives to vaccine manufacturers, offered a momentary break for Macron from domestic political concerns as a legislative election looms on June 30 and July 7. Many African leaders and advocacy groups say Africa was unfairly locked out of access to COVID-19 treatment tools, vaccines and testing equipment that many richer countries bought up in huge quantities after the pandemic was declared in 2020. WHO, advocacy groups, the European Union and others want to help Africa get better prepared for the next pandemic, which many health experts say is inevitable. When the coronavirus pandemic began, South Africa was the only country in Africa with any abilit

Macron, African leaders push for vaccines after Covid exposed inequalities

French President Emmanuel Macron is joining several African leaders on Thursday to kick off a planned $1 billion project to accelerate the rollout of vaccines in Africa, after the coronavirus pandemic exposed gaping inequalities in access to them. The launch of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, which will provide financial incentives to vaccine manufacturers, offered a momentary break for Macron from domestic political concerns as legislative elections loom on June 30 and July 7. Many African leaders and advocacy groups say Africa was unfairly locked out of access to COVID-19 treatment tools, vaccines and testing equipment that many richer countries bought up in huge quantities after the pandemic swept the world starting in 2020. WHO, advocacy groups and others want to help Africa get better prepared for the next pandemic, which many health experts say is inevitable. When the coronavirus pandemic began, South Africa was the only country in Africa with any ability to .

Vaccine group Gavi seeks $11.9 bn to immunise world's poorest children

The amount will be finalised at a meeting on Thursday in Paris, where donors will make pledges for the organisation's plan for 2026-2030

US' Kansas sues Pfizer for hiding Covid vaccine risks, making false claims

The lawsuit filed by Kansas, a US state, alleged that Pfizer promoted its vaccine's safety while hiding evidence linking it to pregnancy complications, such as miscarriages, and heart inflammations

Two dozen companies working to find bird flu vaccine for cows: US agri secy

Bird flu has infected 90 dairy herds across 12 states since late March, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Three dairy farm workers also have been infected with the virus

World's largest vaccine maker Serum Institute sees demand doubling in 5 yrs

The world's largest vaccine maker currently has the capacity to produce 3 billion doses of all types of vaccines each year, but only sells about 1.5 billion doses annually