The two new upcoming vaccine testing facilities at National Institute of Animal Biotechnology,(NIAB) here and the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) at Pune, as the Central Drug Laboratory (CDL), for batch testing and quality control of vaccines are expected to test approximately 60 batches of vaccines per month.
Both labs with state-of-the-art lab facilities funded under PM-CARES are geared up to test existing COVID-19 vaccines and other newer ones. This will not only expedite the vaccine manufacture and supply but also be logistically convenient considering that both Pune and Hyderabad are the two vaccine manufacturing hubs, said an official press release.
While the facility at NCCS, Pune, has been notified as Central Drugs Laboratory for testing and lot release of COVID vaccines has been made as per the gazette notification issued by Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare on June 28, the facility at NIAB here is likely to receive necessary notification shortly.
The Centre had decided to set up these two additional laboratories to facilitate expedited testing and pre-release certification of the vaccines in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and considering the enhanced production of vaccines. Currently, the country has a Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) at Kasauli, which is the National Control Laboratory for testing and pre-release certification of Immunobiologicals (vaccines and antisera) meant for human use.
The new labs will also be under the department of biotechnology, Union Ministry of Science & Technology, which has been at the forefront contributing to various COVID-related activities like vaccine development, diagnostics and testing, bio-banking and genomic surveillance, in addition to fundamental research and also building a strong ecosystem for translational research.
Both DBT-NCCS and DBT-NIAB have been involved in many aspects of infectious disease related work and have contributed to advancement of cutting-edge research output in frontier areas of biotechnology relevant to human health and disease, the release added.
