Bharat Biotech is planning to launch its typhoid vaccine in January. The company, which has completed clinical trials, is awaiting clearance from the Drugs Controller-General for the vaccine. The vaccine is being manufactured at its Hyderabad plant.

Asked about details of the vaccine, a company spokesperson said they would be holding a press conference soon on the launch of the vaccine. At present, Blomed is the only company manufacturing this vaccine in India. The bulk of the vaccine is being imported and sold at prices ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 200 per dose. The vaccine from Bharat Biotech will have a clear edge in terms of price and will be much cheaper than the imported ones. Wockhardt and Zydus Cadila are marketing the imported vaccine. While Wockhardt is selling the vaccine at Rs 100 per dose, Zydus Cadila sells another brand at double the cost at Rs 200 per dose. Aventis Pasteur, GlaxoSmithkline and Key Stone Labs are the multinational companies manufacturing typhoid vaccines globally.

Both Wockhardt and Zydus Cadila are planning to manufacture the vaccine on their own at their plants. Zydus Cadila has already set up a plant at a cost of Rs 8.88 crore and production will start in March 2003. The plant will have a capacity to manufacture six million doses per annum. The estimated market for typhoid vaccine in India is about 50 million doses. About 26 lakh people are treated for typhoid in the metros and class 1 cities alone per year. The typhoid vaccine was in vogue in India till a few years ago. But the Government had stopped its production as it was derived from the plasma, which was found to be inferior unlike the new recombinant vaccine.