With India being declared as a polio free nation on January 13, 2014 by the World Health Organization (WHO), experts point out that there is a need for coverage of mobile and migrant populations from countries like Burma, Pakistan and Afghanistan where polio cases have been detected.

India can combat polio as Indian companies like Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech are capable of manufacturing polio vaccines of global standards. Informs Dr Sambhaji Zende, managing director, Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation, "India is on the way to make a paradigm shift from Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to injectables to make the vaccines more user friendly. Many European countries have adopted it and India would embrace the trend in the coming two years time."

Though there has been a decline of 99 per cent in cases of poliomyelitis worldwide since 1988, India still needs to combat issues related to neglect of routine immunisation, immunity gap, lack of clinical and virological surveys and operational issues.

Established in 1975 as a Government of Maharashtra undertaking to produce life saving vaccines, Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation has a long history of indigenously manufacturing biological products. Since then, the company has come a long way and also set up a GMP facility that is pre-qualified by WHO for supply to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

It was one of the first public sector vaccine manufacturing units to get a WHO accreditation for a trivalent OPV. It has three facilities in Maharashtra for different products. Located in the heart of the city, amidst various central and state research institutes and hospitals, the Mumbai facility manufactures the oral polio vaccine as well as the DPT vaccine.