The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Limited seems to have adopted a marketing plan for its Hepatitis-B vaccine similar to that of ordinary consumer products in the country. The company is learnt to have engaged a few local agencies to sell its Revac-B vaccine through door-to-door promotion in the name of public immunization programme.

The public immunization programme, promoted by the local agencies, is being undertaken in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra by assigning unemployed youth for a door-to-door selling of a registration card for Rs 10 as the admission fee for vaccination. This registration card ensures the compulsory vaccination of the children or adults by using Revac-B at the pre-fixed immunization camps in the local area.

Interestingly, the poorly educated people assigned for the door-to-door promotion of the vaccine were neither informed about the product fully nor aware of the disease and immunization.

While confirming about the immunization camps proposed in Maharashtra, the regional marketing personnel of Bharat Biotech, Uday Satoskar, said that the company is selling the vaccine to the local agencies and NGOs through its selected distributors in the state. "Though we are aware that some NGOs have proposed the immunization programme using our vaccine, the price and the promotional activities are not in our control," Satoskar said.

However, the registration cards sold by the field staff of the local agencies do not contain any details of the NGO or the agency other than the name of the company, the vaccine brand and the price per dose apart from the general information about hepatitis B. As per the registration card sold by the local agency, vaccine will be administered at the immunization camps at Rs 50 per child dose and Rs 80 per adult dose.

Even though the public immunization programme needs exclusive permission from the Drug Controller General of India and also from the government approval of the product for mass immunization, R V Yadav, Joint Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, Maharashtra, said that his department is unaware of the Revac B vaccination campaign programme planned in the state. However, he said that an investigation regarding this vaccination programme would be initiated.

Surprisingly, following the pharmabiz.com queries to the company regarding this sales campaign, one of the vaccination camps supposed to be held at Mira Road in the western suburbs of Mumbai on 15th has been cancelled immediately.