IIL to invest Rs 700 cr on animal vax facility in Genome Valley III phase

Hyderabad: City-based vaccine maker Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL) on Monday announced that it will be investing Rs 700 crore to set up a new animal vaccine manufacturing facility in the Genome Valley III phase. It is a subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board. The proposed facility will produce vaccines for FMD (Foot and Mouth disease) and other emerging ailments. It will create employment for around 750 people, the company said in a release after its executive leadership met Industries and IT Minister K T Rama Rao. The greenfield veterinary vaccine facility is intended to be a state-of-art fully integrated biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) for drug substance production and respective fill-finish, said IIL, which is one of the largest manufacturers of FMD vaccine globally and a leading supplier of vaccine to the National Animal Disease Control Programme.

An additional 300 million doses (per annum) FMD vaccine capacity will be added with the new facility. Production at the new facility is scheduled to take three years. The existing facility of the company in Gachibowli makes FMD vaccine and has a capacity of 300 million doses. The company has another manufacturing facility in Karkapatla, Genome Valley.

Welcoming the decision of IIL to set up another greenfield Facility, the Minister said "Hyderabad is already regarded as the 'Vaccine Capital of the World' and this expansion further advances our contribution in terms of global health, not just for humans but also for animals".

"IIL is on an aggressive growth path and this third vaccine facility in Hyderabad will ensure self-sufficiency for our country in the field of vaccines, thereby saving the exchequer and farmers several thousand crore rupees," Managing Director K Anand Kumar said.