Vaccine manufacturer Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL) has started the construction of its new greenfield veterinary vaccine facility to manufacture the Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine (FMD-Vac) as well as the `Foot and Mouth Disease + Haemorrhagic Septicaemia Vaccine (FMD+HS-Vac)’ in Hyderabad’s Genome Valley.
This brand-new unit will have a biosafety level 3 (BSL3) facility for the manufacture of drug substances and a fill-finish capability for the production of both FMD vaccine and FMD+HS vaccine. ILL, which has its headquarters in Hyderabad, is one of the largest producers of vaccines in Asia.
The Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd (TSIIC), a Government of Telangana undertaking, had allotted the land to IIL at Biotech Park, Phase III, Karkapatla in Telangana’s Siddipet district. The proposed facility has a capacity of 150 million doses/annum of FMD vaccine and 150 million doses/annum of FMD+HS vaccine each. With an investment of approximately Rs 700 crore, the proposed facility is expected to generate more than 750 direct and indirect jobs.
Indian Immunologicals Limited is a subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). On Thursday, Dr Meenesh Shah, Chairman of NDDB & IIL, led the ground-breaking ceremony in the presence of IIL board members, employees, and officials from NDDB.
“IIL continues to fulfil the purpose for which it was created by NDDB as a world-class vaccine manufacturer. This new vaccine-manufacturing facility is dedicated to the nation and will certainly aid in the eradication of Foot and Mouth Disease in our country. IIL’s ability to discover and manufacture affordable vaccines has saved the exchequer several thousand crores,” Dr Shah said.
Dr K Anand Kumar, Managing Director, IIL said: “We are the largest supplier of FMD vaccine to the Government of India’s prestigious Livestock Health Disease Control Programme (LHDCP). We are in an exponential growth phase and expected to grow 40 per cent this year alone. In order to sustain the momentum, IIL is seriously considering making additional investments in building infrastructure within India and in other emerging geographies, including Africa, in a manner to develop tools that will help in control and eradication of diseases.”
