Why vaccine manufacturing PSUs are being closed

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Copied from The Hitavada, Nagpur, 14 July 2008 as fair use.

Vijay

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Centre showing undue haste in closing down pharma PSUs' Jul. 14th,

2008

by Rajendra Diwe

NAGPUR: All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN) has expressed its

serious concern over the recent issue of suspending the production

in three vaccine Public Sector Units (PSUs). In a statement issued

by members of AIDAN in its recently held mid-yearly meeting at

Sewagram, AIDAN reacted that when many states in India are facing

acute shortages of vaccines like DPT and Tetanus Toxoid vaccines,

this malafide closure of PSU by Government will cause untold harm to

public health in India.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India has

recently suspended the production of primary vaccines of the 103-

year-old Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli; the 100-year-old

Pasteur Institute of India (PII), Coonoor; and the 60-year-old BCG

Vaccine Laboratory (BCGVL) in Chennai. Minister of Health and Family

Welfare, Dr Anbumani Ramadoss while justifying the move has said

that the enterprises were ordered to suspend production for non-

compliance with good manufacturing practice (GMP). Dr. Anurag

Bhargava, member of AIDAN said " Since the public enterprises were

under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and had been

requesting for assistance to upgrade their facilities since past

many years, what did the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, do

over the past 4 years to ensure their compliance with newer norms?

While the Government is planning to spend Rs. 300 – Rs 500 crore to

develop the upcoming vaccine and medical park in Chengalpattu which

will become operational in 2012, why were these three enterprises

which were engaged in vaccine production since decades not provided

with the Rs. 50-60 crores they required? Who will supply vaccines in

the interim, and at what cost?, " Dr Bhargava asked. The closure of

vaccine production in these units comes at a time, when the demand-

supply in vaccines for India's Expanded Program for Immunization

(EPI) is widening, private companies are pushing expensive cocktails

of the EPI vaccines with other vaccines in the market, and coverage

of immunization against these crucial vaccine preventable diseases

is declining. The closure of production of these vaccines, will have

enormous implications for the cost and access to these vaccines in

the future, he added. While the Ministry has acted with alacrity and

closed down production in public sector units, it has dragged its

feet in matters where private pharmaceutical companies are involved,

even if the issues are of crucial concern to people and public

health, Dr. Bhargava said. AIDAN in its statement said that in this

context, the entire sequence of events over the past few years, with

allegations of purchase of raw material for measles vaccines at

inflated cost from private companies, providing them raw material

from these 3 units at either free or at ridiculously low prices, and

further agreeing to give 70 per cent of the profit from vaccine

manufacturing to the private company needs an enquiry at the highest

level. AIDAN while slamming the decision apprehended that it would

worsen the vaccine availability scenario. AIDAN has called upon the

Government to stop playing games with the health and lives of

innocent children, and with the pharmaceutical security of the

nation in its attempts to make the way for private enterprise. The

falling rates of immunization are a blot on the functioning of the

Government, especially the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and

the state health departments. Efforts must be made to ensure safe

and steady supply of cost-effective vaccines and universal

immunization of children, AIDAN stated. To ensure this, the robust

functioning of public enterprises like CRI, Kasauli, PII, Coonoor,

and BCGVL, Chennai are essential, the organisation stated while

asking the Government to reverse with immediate effect its

directives on the functioning of these enterprises and to ensure all

assistance to make them compliant with newer norms.