Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL), a biologicals company, will invest Rs 75 crore in a new Sterile Filing Facility (SFF), in Phase 3 of the Genome Valley on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Announcing the ground-breaking at its manufacturing plant in Karkapatla, Ranga Reddy district of Telangana, IIL said it expects to increase its capacity to supply life-saving vaccines such as the Anti Rabies Vaccine (ARV) – Abhayrab™.

To be ready by mid-2020, the facility will help the Hyderabad-headquartered company meet the growing need for critical vaccines in the country, according to its Managing Director, K Anand Kumar.

Reports in the past few months have indicated that several states have reported a shortage of ARV, due to a combination of factors, including growing demand, imperfect demand signals, and supply disruptions. Reports indicate that the shortage sometime extends to the tune of 60-80 per cent.

With this investment and increasing production facilities, IIL continues to be the largest producer of the rabies vaccine in the country. “Currently, there are reports of a shortage of anti-rabies vaccines in the country and the company is well prepared to meet some of the shortfall,” added Prasanna Deshpande, Deputy Managing Director.

Part of the National Dairy Development Board, IIL has four manufacturing facilities — two in Hyderabad and its outskirts, Ooty in Tamil Nadu and New Zealand, producing a range of animal and human vaccines and products. The company exports various human and animal vaccines to over 50 countries, and currently employs around 1,300 people.

Somasekhar.m@thehindu.co.in

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