The first indigenous pneumonia vaccine, developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII), was launched by the Union’s health minister, Harsh Vardhan, on Monday. The vaccine will be sold under the name ‘Pneumosil’ and will be available as a single dose in a vial and pre-filled syringe or as a multiple dose in vials at affordable prices, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said in a statement. .
The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) would be used to treat pneumonia in children and has been developed by IBS in collaboration with other partners such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, according to the statement. Vardhan said the vaccine was developed during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic and is also in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Sufficient India) program.
“Pneumosil has been extensively evaluated in 5 randomized controlled clinical trials and has demonstrated safety and immunogenicity comparable to licensed pneumococcal vaccines in various populations in India and Africa, where Pneumosil was administered to adults, young children and infants with different vaccination schedules.” said Vardhan. He also said that the vaccine has been shown to be safe during these trials and has prevented pneumonia, after which the Comptroller General of Medicines (India) approved the vaccine in July 2020 after approval by the subject matter expert committee (SEC ).
Hailing IBS, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer for the number of doses produced, the minister said: “Serum Institute vaccines are used in 170 countries and one in three children in the world is immunized with the manufacturer’s vaccine.” He also appreciated India’s scientific and medical brotherhood, saying that the indigenous vaccine would reduce India’s dependence on high-priced PCVs from foreign manufacturers.
During the launch of the vaccine, the Minister of Health also pointed out that pneumonia is responsible for almost 1 million deaths worldwide and is the leading cause of infectious death among children under five years of age.
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