HLL Lifecare to set up vaccine plant in Tamil Nadu

With the Centre clearing the Rs 594-crore Integrated Vaccine Complex (IVC) in Tamil Nadu, public sector undertaking HLL Lifecare Ltd has floated a wholly owned subsidiary - HLL Biotech Ltd - to execute the project that aims to boost the country's vaccine security.

The first phase of IVC, coming up at Chengalpattu in Tamil Nadu's Kanchipuram district, will be completed in 36 months. With an annual capacity of 585 million doses, the unit will manufacture pentavalent combination (DPT plus Hep B plus Hib), BCG, measles, hepatitis B, human rabies, Hib and Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccines in the first phase, an HLL Lifecare press release said on Wednesday.

"The total project cost is Rs 594 crore, of which Rs 28 crore has already been released. We have also started on site preliminary works at the 100 acre area. Project office has started functioning with sufficient staff including the project officer," HLL CMD M Ayyappan said.

The project, cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on April 26, was announced in the previous budget to bolster India's vaccine security. "This is a project of national importance as it would ensure uninterrupted availability of vaccines for the Universal Immunisation Programme at affordable prices. Another task of the project is to ensure vaccines in emergency situations and considerably reduce the country's dependence on import of vaccines," Ayyappan said.

In the first phase, IVC will have capacity to produce 100 million doses each of pentavalent combination, measles, Hib and BCG vaccines. It can also produce 140 million doses of Hep B, 20 million of human rabies and 25 million doses of JE vaccines.

The WHO-pre-qualified facility, first of its kind in the public sector, will also have the capacity to manufacture futuristic meningococcal, rotaviral, dengue and pneumococcal vaccines in its multi-bacterial and multi-viral facilities to meet any epidemic or pandemic situations.

IVC also seeks to develop a strong R&D base, apart from manufacturing and supplying 75% of vaccines required for the UIP.