Pune: Haffkine Institute gets Rs 25 crore fund booster for vaccine production
Pune: Haffkine Institute gets Rs 25 crore fund booster for vaccine production
Mumbai: Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced financial support of ₹25 crore for Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation to strengthen vaccine production, especially in response to the Government of India’s demand for 268 million oral polio vaccines. The funds will come from a 2% levy under the Haffkine procurement cell. The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Pawar.
To empower Haffkine Institute and Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation, a committee led by Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar had earlier submitted recommendations to the state government. Pawar directed the formation of a new three-member committee comprising secretaries from the medical education, public health, and planning departments to implement these recommendations effectively and prepare a five-year roadmap for Haffkine’s development.
Currently, Haffkine has 1.5 lakh doses of anti-snake venom vaccines ready, which are proven to be highly effective. Pawar instructed that these vaccines should be procured through the Maharashtra Medical Goods Procurement Authority.
The review meeting at Mantralaya also addressed issues related to Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation and pension matters of its retired employees and officers. Ministers Hasan Mushrif, Narhari Zirwal, Prakash Abitkar, MLC Sachin Ahir, senior bureaucrats, and Haffkine’s Managing Director Sunil Mahindrakar were present at the meeting.
