It took a lot of incubation and collaboration to create vaccines that are a household name now . At the same time , dedicated national vaccination programs resulted in making India free of smallpox , cholera and polio . Playing a pivotal role has been the Department of Biotechnology ( DBT ) that has made concerted efforts in the past three decades , towards strengthening vaccine research and development in India . Setting up of both public sector and private sector vaccine manufacturing units , Universal Immunization Program , National Immunization Program , National Vaccine Policy are just a few examples .
“ In India , vaccination was adopted by citizens without much
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India considers vaccines as not only vital to good health but also as a global good , and it is our duty to assist other countries .
Prime Minister of India , Narendra Modi
resistance compared to several other developing and developed countries . The huge success of the National immunization Program ( NIP ) created a huge opportunity for Indian vaccine manufacturers . This also got good support from vibrant academic infrastructure , plenty of trained manpower , support from government and global demand for cheap and reliable vaccines , says Dr . Amit Prasad , School of Basic Sciences , IIT Mandi who calls for increased collaboration between industry and academia .
Making strides globally
India has scaled many peaks to carve out a top position in the new vaccine world order . The country now supplies nearly 65 % of the world ' s demand . As the world ' s largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume , Serum Institute of India has now joined the league of globally renowned names such as Pfizer , AstraZeneca , and Moderna . The companies like Bharat Biotech and Zydus Life Sciences are already multiplying their efforts to innovate new vaccines .
The Serum Institute of India partnered with US company Novavax to manufacture their Covid vaccine ( NVX-CoV2373 ) for the US market . India also administered the world ’ s first DNA vaccine – ZYCOV-D in Patna , which was developed by Ahmedabad-based vaccine manufacturer Zydus Life Sciences . Bharat Biotech has also received permission from the DCGI to start trials of its intranasal booster dose in India .
“ During his visit to Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad , Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad and Serum
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