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40 countries make beeline for polio vaccine from government-run Haffkine

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India was declared a polio-free country in February, and now, the state-run Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited (HBPCL) has got a new responsibility, of helping other developing countries.

HBPCL, the only government-run company in the country that's got accreditation from the World Health Organisation, has got a huge order from nearly 40 countries for the oral polio vaccine. These include Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Kenya, Ghana and Philippines.

"Haffkine is known for its quality of vaccine the world over. The company has successfully maintained its WHO accreditation for the last 10 years. To get this accreditation, you have to maintain high standards. We are following all norms of good manufacturing practices. We are a government company but on par with private ones," said Samabhaji Zende, managing director, HBPCL.

"Recently, WHO officials visited us to train our staff in the quality management system. Our motto is to serve the developing countries by providing this medicine."

This month itself, health ministry placed an order for Rs30 crore worth of the vaccine. The company's turnover was around Rs315 crore last year, and it has, officials say, only increased with every year.

As per WHO, for a country to be considered polio-free, there should not be a single case reported for three years in a row. Though India has not reported a single case for the last three years, it remains vulnerable due to geographical proximity to countries that carry a heavy (viral) load. The last known case here was of an 18-month-old girl from West Bengal in 2011.

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