One of them will build immunity in case virus mutates, says pharma firm
One of them will build immunity in case virus mutates, says pharma firm
Two more vaccines against swine flu are expected to roll out soon.
Private pharmaceutical firm, Serum Institute of India, will introduce these vaccines into the market. This, despite the response to its intranasal (to be inhaled) H1N1 vaccine not being as good as expected.
One of the vaccines, an injectable one, will be in the market in two or three months.
"The injectable vaccine is more or less ready. Its price will be twice as much of the intranasal vaccine," said Serum Institute's Executive Director Adar Poonawalla.
He said the government had in advance placed an order of Rs 10 crore for the injectable vaccine. "We aren't too keen on promoting the injectable vaccine as we feel acceptability among people is more with the intra-nasal vaccine," Poonawalla said.
He added that the company was also trying to convince the government to buy the intranasal vaccine instead, as its stocks were available and since "people are more comfortable in taking a non-injectable route".
Five-in-one flu shot
However, Serum Institute's big project in terms of a vaccine to prevent H1N1 is a five-in-one flu shot that is set to roll out by beginning of next year.
"At the moment, there is a vaccine for influenza, one vaccine for H1N1 and for other sub types of the virus. What we plan to do is introduce a five-in-one flu shot that can immunise against the flu virus and this will be a one-shot vaccine," Poonawalla told MiD DAY. "After this, there won't be any need to take multiple vaccines for flu."
He claimed that this virus would give better protection even if the H1N1 virus mutates eventually. When a virus mutates, it changes its form.
"The thought uppermost on people's minds is that the existing vaccines won't be effective in case there is a mutation in the H1N1 virus," said Poonawalla. "However, in case of the five-in-one flu vaccine, this aspect will be taken care of as it will offer protection even if the virus changes its form."
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