PATH Watch [to 14 March 2015]
http://www.path.org/news/index.php

March 12, 2015
India rolls out ROTAVAC® in private sector
On Monday, March 9, 2015, India’s Prime Minister Narenda Modi rolled out an indigenously developed and manufactured rotavirus vaccine, ROTAVAC®, for the private market.
ROTAVAC®’s Phase 3 clinical trial data demonstrated excellent safety and efficacy, with reductions of severe rotavirus diarrhea by more than half – 56 percent during the first year of life, with protection continuing into the second year of life. This compares favorably with the efficacy of currently globally available rotavirus vaccines in low-resource countries.

PATH, a key partner in the development of ROTAVAC® since 2001, worked with the Indian Department of Biotechnology, the Society for Applied Studies, and Bharat Biotech on the clinical trials that demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. PATH welcomed the news that Bharat Biotech launched ROTAVAC® in the private sector as “an exciting and encouraging first step towards the public health goal of improving the supply of affordable rotavirus vaccine, both in India and worldwide.”

In July 2014, Prime Minister Modi announced the introduction of ROTAVAC® into India’s publically funded Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), and in September 2014, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, India’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare at the time, confirmed the Indian government’s commitment to introduce rotavirus vaccines into the UIP during opening remarks at the International Rotavirus Symposium, held in New Delhi. The Government of India is currently developing a plan for a phased roll-out of the vaccine in the UIP, which will benefit the poorest populations who are most at-risk of severe illness or death from rotavirus diarrhea