Cipla To Distribute Nasal Flu Vaccine In India

Cipla will market SII’s NasovacS vaccine, a painless influenza vaccine that can boost herd immunity.

AsianScientist (Jun. 2, 2015) – Cipla Limited, a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in India, has signed an agreement with Serum Institute of India Ltd. (SII) to exclusively market flu vaccine Nasovac-S in India.

Under this agreement, SII will develop and manufacture the vaccine and Cipla will exclusively market it in India. The vaccine will be manufactured in SII’s production facilities approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“This collaboration is aligned with our commitment to access to affordable healthcare. This partnership is a significant step towards making preventative healthcare accessible to a large number of Indians through Cipla’s strong countrywide salesforce,” commented Mr. Subhanu Saxena, Managing Director & Global CEO, Cipla Limited, on the agreement.

Having initiated the approval process with the European Medicines Authority for marketing the products developed and manufactured by SII, Cipla is now forging ahead looking at other markets where the company has a strong presence.

Influenza occurs globally with an annual attack rate estimated at 5-10 percent in adults and 20-30 percent in children. Worldwide, these annual epidemics are estimated to result in about three to five million cases of severe illness and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths.

The advantage of NasovacS vaccine is that it is administered through the nasal route and is therefore painless. It increases indirect protection through herd immunity and protects against drifted viruses.

This announcement follow’s Cipla’s launch of generic drug Sofosbuvir, a NS5B polymerase inhibitor for hepatitis C treatment, under the brand name ‘Hepcvir’ in March 2015.

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Source: Cipla Limited.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

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