Biological E Ltd (BE), on Thursday, launched the country’s first indigenously developed vaccine for Japanese Encephalitis (JE), which will be marketed under the brand name — JEEV.
The company has so far invested about `400 crore, of which over 20 per cent has been pumped into the development of JE vaccine. The company said it is in the process of obtaining WHO pre-qualification approval for JEEV, which will enable the vaccine to be exported to global agencies.
“Developed over 7 years of in-house R&D and support from its technology partner, Austria-based Intercell AG, JEEV is a second generation inactivated Japanese Encephalitis vaccine based on the SA 14-14-2 strain and does not contain any Gelatin stabilizers or Thiomersal and the vaccine’s safety,” said Mahima Datla, Senior Vice President (Operations), BE.
According to estimates, there were over 8,000 confirmed cases recorded in India in 2011, with over 1,100 deaths. There’s no specific treatment available for JE. There is no other vaccine available to private doctors in India currently.
“With the launch of JEEV, the indigenous vaccine with excellent safety profile and proven efficacy in Indian subjects is now available to doctors for prevention of Japanese Encephalitis in children and adults,” said Dr Vijay Kumar Datla, CMD, BE.