New Delhi : The subject expert committee of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has recommended Cadila Pharmaceuticals to approve the manufacture of India’s first indigenously developed seasonal flu vaccine. However, the final approval can only be given by the regulator.
The committee met in the last week of November and deliberated on the Phase-3 clinical trials report submitted by the firm. The expert panel has asked the company to submit a data safety monitoring report for children.
Currently, doctors prescribe imported flu jabs for children, the elderly, and patients with respiratory illnesses. In many other countries, flu jabs are routinely given to the general public as a preventive measure. “After detailed deliberations, the committee recommended to allow the manufacture of the quadrivalent seasonal Influenza Virus-Like Particle (VLP) vaccine,” the minutes of the meeting said Peppermint,
Queries sent to Cadila Pharmaceutical and Health Ministry spokesperson did not elicit any response.
Home-grown influenza vaccine can bring relief to patients, say health experts.
“Generally, we recommend influenza vaccine to school-going children, people above 50 years of age and people with co-morbid conditions. If these people contract influenza, their symptoms may convert into severe respiratory illness,” said Dr Bobby Bhalhotra, senior pulmonologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi.
“There are around 26 such flu variants and every year different variants of influenza like H1N1, H1N3 etc circulate. We give the vaccine to those who need it and some international vaccines are imported from other countries. they spend around since 700 1,200 per dose per annum. Certainly, Indian-origin vaccines will bring great relief.”
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