‘Unethical practices prevail in vac market’

P Ram Kumar - Hyderabad

THE vaccine market in India has become dirty because of the unethical practices resorted to by the entrepreneurs, observes K Varaprasad Reddy, managing director of Shantha Biotechnics Private Ltd here. In an exclusive to Express Pharma Pulse, Reddy said the entrepreneurs entering this sector were having a sheepish mentality. ‘‘If one enters a particular segment, nearly 10 follow suit,’’ he said. Today there are more number of players in the hepatitis B vaccine segment. In order to survive in the market, some companies are compromising on the quality of the produce. ‘‘Healthy competition is needed, but not unethical practices by cutting the prices drastically and diluting the quality,’’ Reddy remarked.

The inferior quality due to cutting down of the prices sends wrong signals in the international market, he said. Today Shantha Biotechnics is selling around Rs 35 per dose of hepatitis-B vaccine (Shanvac B). Because of the unethical practices, the vaccine market is getting destroyed. When there is already a cut-throat competition, some more players are actively considering to enter this market, he said. Reddy said there was no proper encouragement by the government for the vaccine producers in the country. ‘‘Hence, we are forced to look out for markets abroad.’’ Shantha is utilising 10 per cent of its installed capacity.