Hyderabad: In a letter to Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Sri Harsh Vardhan, Telangana Industries Minister KTR reiterated the request for the establishment of a Vaccine Testing and Certification Laboratory in Hyderabad, on the lines of Central Drug Laboratory in Kasauli.

Minister stated that Hyderabad is known as the ‘Vaccine Capital of the World’ manufacturing more than 6 billion doses each year contributing one-third of the global vaccines output adding that the vaccines manufactured in Hyderabad are being sent to Central Drug Laboratory in Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh for testing and certification.

The logistics and the time involved were constraining the industry in being a more effective and competitive destination, Minister averred.

Minister KTR also mentioned that Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) is establishing the country’s largest National Animal Resource facility for biomedical research in Genome Valley, Hyderabad. “The State Government has provided the required land for the project free of cost to ICMR to facilitate the establishment of this facility,” he added.

“I am happy to note that this facility already has a mandate of testing and certifying the drug including vaccines, medical devices and to certify them on behalf of the Government of India. I would like to request that the establishment of this facility be expedited, and this institution is strengthened further to conduct testing and pre-release certification of Immuno biologicals meant for human use in India,” said KTR.

Minister KTR also stated that establishing a Government Medical Store Depot (GMSD) facility of the Government of India in Hyderabad with state-of-the-art data monitoring and tracking system would go a long way in supporting the vaccine manufacturing efforts in the country. Currently, such facilities are only available in Karnal, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata.