In a first, Parel’s Haffkine Bio-pharmaceutical is all set to export its antidotes for snake bites, scorpion bites and rabies, and tetanus shots all the way to Yemen. The State-run institute has received an order worth nearly ₹1 crore and is currently in the process of readying the consignments for dispatch.
The institute will supply 3,000 vials of their snake antivenin, 1,000 vials of anti-scorpion venom serum, 5,000 vials of anti-rabies serum and 10,000 vials of tetanus antitoxin to Yemen.
“So far, our polio vaccine was the only one that had reached across the world. But with great reviews about the efficacy and quality of our products, we are getting queries from various places,” Dr. Rajesh Deshmukh, managing director, Haffkine Bio-pharmaceutical, said. He said before this, the antidotes were once supplied to Sri Lanka.
Haffkine’s polio vaccine has reached nearly 40 countries through UNICEF. This year too, the institute will provide 66 million doses to UNICEF and another 15 million separately to Mozambique. “We have already received an order from Mozambique and are in the process of making the vaccines,” Dr. Deshmukh said.
With the other antidotes now in demand, Dr. Deshmukh hopes to put more efforts into marketing and distribution too. “Authorities from Yemen reached out to us because of the credibility of our products. There are so many private players in the market but our antidotes are known to be the most effective,” he said.
Praising the potency of their snake antivenin in neutralising the venom in the patient, Dr. Deshmukh said, “Fewer vials are required if the potency of the antivenin is good.” Another important aspect of Haffkine’s antivenin is that it is in powder form and thus, has a better shelf life.
The institute largely supplies medicines to Maharashtra and few other States. While they have a capacity of producing 4.5 lakh vials of snake antivenin, an estimated three lakh vials are supplied in the State. “We plan to scale up our production this year and also concentrate on marketing,” Dr. Deshmukh said.
