Mumbai, India (CU)_ Cadila Pharmaceuticals, located in Ahmedabad, and New Delhi-based major business organization Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have joined hands and started a national campaign to eradicate rabies in India by 2030. The drive was launched last week during the 4th CII Life Sciences Conclave in New Delhi. The purpose of the Conclave, which was attended by leading pharma industry executives, senior government officials, and policymakers, was to discuss building a skillful inorganic development strategy for the life sciences sector.
A number of initiatives for rabies awareness and prevention will be conducted at the national and state levels under the auspices of the government of India in an effort to eradicate rabies from India by 2030. According to Jawed Zia, Chief Executive Officer of Cadila Pharma, “Lack of public awareness and the resultant failure to complete the vaccine regimen are key causes behind rabies deaths.”
Rabies causes over 59,000 deaths annually worldwide, of which approximately 20,000, or slightly more than one-third, occur in India alone. Dr Manjul Joshipura, Senior VP, New Product Development & Innovations at Cadila Pharmaceuticals, spoke about rabies prevention and the role of the company in the initiative. He said, “The key issue is not the loss of lives, but the fact that almost all rabies deaths can be prevented through vaccination. The challenge is awareness and failure to complete the lengthy vaccine regimen, which involves multiple visits to the hospital over several weeks. At Cadila Pharmaceuticals, we have been focusing on preventing rabies deaths, and have recently launched ThRabis, the world’s first three-dose rabies vaccine. The Recombinant vaccine has a simpler regime as compared with other vaccines, and is proving to be a game-changer by helping save many lives”.
