Pharma rivals unite to back Made-in-India vaccines

NEW DELHI: Pharma promoters may be competing fiercely in the market, but on Thursday they all rallied behind domestically- manufactured vaccines, including those for polio and Covid-19.


Satish Reddy, chairman of Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Dilip Shanghvi, promoter and CMD of Sun Pharma, Pankaj Patel chairman and promoter of Zydus Lifesciences, and Torrent Pharma chairman Samir Mehta —industry leaders known for their media reticence—each took to social media platforms to endorse India-made vaccines.


These comments come amid rising concerns over sudden deaths in Karnataka, and claims that Covid-19 vaccines might be associated with heart attacks.


In separate posts, they highlighted that these vaccines are safe, effective, and trusted in over 90 countries, backed by the World Health Organization (WHO), and widely used across the globe.
India accounts for 60% of global vaccine production. During the Covid pandemic, vaccines played a crucial role, and India supplied vaccines and critical medicines across the world.
Linking the deaths to the COVID-19 vaccine without any scientific evidence is incorrect and misleading, they added.


``They helped end polio & fight COVID. At a time when India is seen as a vaccine leader, let’s build trust in science, not doubt it. Public health must stay above politics’’, Reddy said in a post on micro-blogging site, X.

Interestingly, all comments were posted on the same day, which is unprecedented.


Patel said on X ``There are other multiple reasons like age, environmental factors, genetics, lifestyle etc, that could be the leading cause of heart attacks in people. Several scientific studies globally and in India have conclusively shown that the risk of heart attack or myocarditis is greater after SARS-CoV-2 infection. It has been proven beyond doubt that vaccination remains the most effective and preventive healthcare strategy to reduce deaths and disabilities''.


``The vaccine has been administered to millions across the country. If there were a connection, we would have seen similar incidents in many other places - which is not the case. The state health authorities should thoroughly investigate the situation to determine the cause’’, Shanghvi stated in a Linkedin post.


Batting for the ``knowledge-driven sector which plays a vital role in global health'', Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance secretary general Sudarshan Jain said ``Misinformation and distortion of facts endanger public health and undermine the trust built on science and patient care globally’’.


Further, Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said in a post on X that COVID-19 vaccines developed in India were approved, following ``rigorous protocols’’. She debunked Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah’s view which linked heart-related deaths in Hassan to Covid vaccine.
On July 1, he had said "hasty approval and distribution" of the vaccine to the public could also be a reason for the multiple deaths.

UK major AstraZeneca had also licensed Pune-based Serum Institute of India to manufacture the Covid-19 vaccine, which was sold as Covishield in the country. It was also shipped to several countries as part of the govt's `Vaccine Maitri' initiative.


Earlier, the health ministry said that extensive studies by the Indian Council of Medical Research and All India Institute of Medical Sciences have conclusively established no linkage between COVID-19 vaccines, and sudden deaths among adults post-COVID-19.