January 02, 2008	Wednesday	Zilhaj 22, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Jan 1: The National Institute of Health (NIH) could soon be out of the vaccine production business as the Planning Commission on Tuesday emphasised on the country’s premier health research institution to focus on its core activities, a reliable source in the Ministry of Health revealed.

A proposal floated by the NIH management for revitalising its vaccine production unit is said to have been shot down.

The Planning Commission instead wants NIH to concentrate on public health, disease surveillance, vaccine quality assurance and drug research and development.

NIH has the capacity to produce vaccine for tetanus, rabies, typhoid and measles and anti-snake venom. However, NIH’s biological production division, entrusted with the task of achieving self-sufficiency in vaccine production in the country, has been under-performing for many years and is termed by many a “white elephant”.

Although some activity continues at the biological production division, it is more of repackaging of the vaccine.

The well-equipped vaccine production laboratories with a 156 men strong staff are currently no more than a filling and packaging unit where concentrates from abroad are diluted according to the required formulation, packaged and supplied.

NIH Executive Director Maj-Gen Masood Anwar denies that the institute is being put out of vaccine production business, saying the research institution would continue to be involved in it.

He stressed that no one would be interested in producing vaccine, which has lesser profit attraction.

The government has been mulling different options for sustainable vaccine production, including its outsourcing and privatisation.

However, nothing concrete has been achieved so far expect for the establishment of a committee under Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Attaur Rehman for studying different models and recommending the best.

It looks like that this time the Planning Commission too realises that a lot of time has been consumed, as it gave one month’s deadline to the committee to firm up its proposals for submission to the federal cabinet.

A source in the health ministry, while deliberating on the delay in finalisation of proposals for the future of vaccine production in the country, said it was a capital intensive project requiring over $1 billion.

Additionally, he said, the issue was of technology transfer and not just re-packaging facility.

The government also has to prepare an incentives package to lure the private investors into this sector.