New Delhi September 23: Cadila Pharmaceuticals, one of the largest privately held drug manufacturers in the country, and premier industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), at Delhi have launched a joint national campaign for a rabies-free India by 2030.

The campaign was launched at the 4th CII Life Sciences Conclave in New Delhi on Friday. Attended by top leaders from the pharma industry, senior government officials, and policymakers, the Conclave was organised to brainstorm on developing a well-planned inorganic growth strategy for the life sciences sector.

As a part of the campaign to make India rabies-free by 2030, several activities for awareness and prevention of rabies will be undertaken at the national and state level under the aegis of the government of India.Rabies claims around 59,000 deaths globally a year, of which around 20,000 or just over one-third of the deaths take place in India alone. Jawed Zia, CEO of Cadila Pharma, says “lack of public awareness and the resultant failure to complete the vaccine regimen are key causes behind rabies deaths.”

“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,” Dr Manjul Joshipura, Senior VP, New Product Development & Innovations, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, said.

Dr. HK Gohil, Chief Medical Officer in Charge, ARV centre and Rabies Ward, I.D. Hospital and Dr. Jugal Kishore, Director and Head of Department of Community Medicine in Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, also shared their perspectives and the way forward at the conclave.

They too noted that a large number of rabies deaths are because of a lack of public awareness about the disease and the resultant failure to undergo the full rabies vaccination regime. They expressed confidence that the campaign would go a long way in making India rabies-free by the end of the decade.

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Ahmedabad: In an important breakthrough pharma major Cadila Pharmaceuticals has developed a novel three-dose recombinant nano-particle based rabies G protein vaccine. Aiming at a Rabies-Free India the novel vaccine was launched by Cadila this month with the campaign ‘One, Two, Three. Rabies Free.’ It is estimated that globally, rabies kills 59,000 animal bite victims every year, mainly in Asia and Africa. Over 20,000 people die in India alone, mainly because many animal bite victims do not complete the full course of the available vaccine.

All existing rabies vaccine regimens require five injections spread over 28 days to complete the full regimen. Many animal bite victims are unable to complete the full course of the vaccine due to their complicated dosing schedule, frequent visits to the hospital or clinic and potential loss of income associated with these visits. This leaves many victims unprotected and susceptible to developing rabies, which is a fatal condition.

The ‘Cadila Against Rabies’ event held in Ahmedabad was attended by key experts from the Association for the Prevention and Control of Rabies in India (APCRI) Founder President and Mentor Dr. MK Sudarshan; President Dr. DH Ashwath Narayana; Secretary General Dr. Sumit Poddar, and Treasurer Dr. HS Ravish and other leading experts. They spoke about the need to eradicate rabies and appreciated Cadila Pharmaceuticals’ efforts. The panel discussion was followed by the launch of ThRabis® – World’s 1^st novel three-dose rabies vaccine.

“With this three-dose innovative vaccine, many more lives will be saved – lives that continue to be lost to a preventable disease like Rabies. This vaccine can be a game-changer in our global flight to eliminate rabies through a simpler and more convenient regimen. Continuing our journey of making affordable innovations available to the last man in society, ThRabis® is one more addition to our portfolio of indigenous innovations,” shared Dr. Rajiv Modi, CMD, Cadila Pharmaceuticals.

About ThRabis®

The vaccine – ThRabis® is prepared by using Virus-Like Particle technology (VLP). The VLPs self-assemble from this recombinant G protein which is produced from genes cloned into baculovirus expression vectors and expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) insect cells. The vaccine generates antibodies against rabies G protein, which leads to virus neutralisation, as well as prevents virus attachment to the cell to confer protection against rabies.

Cadila Pharmaceuticals successfully tested immunogenicity and safety of three doses, i.e. 50 µg (microgram) on days 0, 3 and 7 of the novel vaccine in Phase-I/II and Phase-III clinical trials in healthy volunteers as well as preclinical models. The safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine were established in the trials. Besides being convenient, ThRabis® is an intramuscular vaccine and less painful for the recipients. It is also extremely convenient for doctors as it is a ready to use vaccine  and does not require  reconstitution prior to use (Adding water for injection and mixing it thoroughly).

“ThRabis® is a major breakthrough vaccine that can help in preventing many rabies related  deaths. Unlike other approved rabies vaccines, ThRabis® is a three-dose vaccine and is administered within a week. This ensures clinical effectiveness with just three doses in seven days, and will improve compliance to complete the vaccine course,” said Mr. Suresh Gupta, President, Domestic Business, Cadila Pharmaceuticals.

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