Rema Nagarajan, TNN, Sep 9, 2010 :
Two of the three public sector vaccine manufacturing units that were shut down in 2008 have started manufacturing and supplying vaccines for the government's Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), but their prices are now more than double what they were charging before they were shut down and almost as high as of private vaccine manufacturers.
The response to an RTI application filed by Dr K V Babu from Payyannur in Kerala shows that orders placed on the two units — the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli and the Pasteur Institute of India (PII), Coonoor — for 2010-11 are at these high prices.
This is ironical given the fact that the purpose of restarting manufacture of vaccines in these public sector units was to act as a check on the steadily rising prices of vaccines in the UIP.
The DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus toxoid) vaccine, which was being supplied by PII and CRI for just about Rs 12 in 2008, is now being supplied at Rs 23.50, almost double the original price, and the TT vaccine that protects against tetanus and neonatal tetanus is being supplied by CRI for almost Rs 17 against just over Rs 6 in 2008.
The third unit that was shut down, the BCG Vaccine Laboratory (BCGVL), Chennai does not seem to have started manufacture yet. Hence, the BCG vaccine, which protects against tuberculosis, is being supplied by the Serum Institute of India (SII), Pune, a private company, for almost Rs 29, while the original PSU price was just Rs 13.
B Sundaram, assistant director of PII, when contacted by TOI explained that the institute had no say in the pricing. "The high price for the DPT vaccine was quoted in the order for the vaccines that came from the central government. We have been told that a committee will be coming from the Centre to fix the final price after taking production costs into consideration," he said.
The order also sought vaccine vial monitors ( VVM) which are labels containing a heat-sensitive material placed on a vaccine vial to register heat exposure. If the vaccine is exposed to a higher temperature, the label will change colour. The government has also ordered that vaccine packets should contain temperature monitoring devices. "Earlier, there was no such stipulation, but now this is mandatory and this will help in improving the maintenance of the cold chain while transporting the vaccines," explained Sundaram.
The three PSUs were shut down after their manufacturing licences were cancelled ostensibly for not being GMP (good manufacturing practices) compliant. Following stinging criticism of this decision from the parliamentary standing committee on health, the ministry had revoked the suspension of licences on February 26 this year.
The committee had pointed out in its report tabled in Parliament last month that going by trends, the prices of vaccines could rise manifold which would hit hard the general public as well as the government exchequer. The committee observed that "for stabilizing the prices of vaccines there may be no other alternative than revoking the suspension of the manufacturing license of the three vaccine institutes to enable them to start production forthwith."
The committee had urged health ministry in all its reports to start production in the PSUs at earliest as "it was evident that after the closure of the captive units, the challenge to the private sector to provide vaccines at competitive prices had been nullified." It added that the role of the PSUs in ensuring low and stable prices was critical. The current pricing of PSU-manufactured vaccines belies that expectation.
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