India explores ‘heat-proof’ vaccines to stop vital medicines going to waste

As India is witnessing wastage of at least 50 per cent of vaccines stocked by various healthcare agencies owing to heat exposure, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSO) has decided to explore the idea of developing thermostable vaccines. According to experts, such vaccines will be ideal for a country like India where vaccine distribution takes several months. “We are examining a proposal made by Hilleman Laboratories, a global vaccine research and development organisation. According to them, vaccines could be stored completely without the help of cold chain, all the way from manufacturers to vaccination fields,” said Dr G.N. Singh, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). “The research is going on. If everything goes well and the technology proves that it has a potential to curb vaccine wastage, we will support the technology and implement it,” he said. In 2014, research and development of thermostable formulations of oral rotavirus vaccine were initiated, which offered...