India and the Netherlands have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of vaccines under Make in India initiative. The MoU was signed between visiting Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte and government of India in New Delhi.

With this, the MoU cooperation between the two countries is further extended in the healthcare sector. Particularly in the vaccine manufacturing segment this cooperation is expected to result in large scale production of measles-rubella and other needed vaccine in the country.

“As India has already excelled in polio eradication, the country is aiming its focus on elimination and control of other preventable viral disease through vaccine and save hundreds of thousands of children from the dreaded disease in the country after polio, measles and rubella are regarded as the second most dreaded diseases affecting the Indian population on a larger scale. Through this MoU, we are expecting mutual cooperation between two countries and produce high quality vaccines in India and immunize the country from dreaded diseases,” said Dr. Harshavardhan, minister for science and technology and earth sciences.

The MoU signed under ‘Make in India’ initiative of government of India will enable the Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation Ltd (BIBCOL), a central public sector udertaking (PSU) under department of biotechnology, to develop measles – rubella vaccine at its plant at Chola, Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Translational Vaccinology (Intravacc), a government-based institute of Netherlands will extend technical support for the development of the vaccine.

Commenting on the collaboration between BIBCOL and Intravacc, Dr M K Bhan, chairman of BIBCOL said that this collaboration will pave the way for manufacture of high quality affordable vaccines, beginning with measles and rubella vaccine, and then take on the production of the other needed vaccines for the immunization programmes of India and other developing countries in the world. The ‘Make in India’ is a critical initiative for promoting access to health technology beyond the borders of India.

Established as a PSU in 1989, BIBCOL is aimed at achieving self-sufficiency for the nation with respect to production and supply of high quality polio vaccine and other biologicals. It has supplied billions of doses of oral polio vaccine to India’s immunization programme and has played a major role in making India ‘polio free’. Under the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government, BIBCOL has embarked on journey to acquire technology and production capabilities for production of measles-rubella vaccine with the support of department of biotechnology.