Pharmaceutical Drug Manufacturers

March 11, 2010- The two major pharmaceutical companies- Zydus Cadila and Serum India- are on the verge of completing the final phase of trials for the indigenous swine flu vaccines in India. The Ahmedabad based Zydus Cadila is ready to make its indigenous H1N1 vaccine available for commercial use by April 2010 after completing the phase two and phase three trials in four major cities of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Jaipur and Pune. The company plans to produce ten to twelve million doses of the swine flu vaccine in the initial phase.

The other pharmaceutical company- the Pune-based Serum India's swine flu vaccine 'Fluvac' will be ready for commercial use by the end of April or May 2010, subject to all regulatory clearances. It has started clinical trials of its nasal form of vaccine on 300 subjects at different locations around the country and is set to become the second company to have started Phase II/III trials, pushing it closer to the finishing line. Other Indian pharmaceutical companies including Bharat Biotech and Panacea Biotech are also working on swine flu vaccine.

Meanwhile, with the help of 1.5 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine to be imported from French company Sanofi Pasteur, India is 'most likely' to administer imported swine flu vaccine to the high risk groups from next week, as informed by a senior health ministry official on Wednesday. The pharma major had been asked by the health authorities to conduct a bridge human trail in India to test if its swine flu vaccine suits the Indian population. The multinational pharma company Sanofi Pasteur has already completed its bridge study and the data has been given to a health ministry committee for analysis. The health ministry of India expects the analysis to end in a few days and H1N1 vaccination will most likely start the coming week. The high risk groups such as doctors and paramedics will be vaccinated first.