International BusinessPanacea bags Rs 1,000-crore Unicef contract
Panacea Biotec today bagged a three-year contract worth over Rs 1,067 crore ($222.37 million) from Unicef for supplying its EasyFive vaccine.
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EasyFive, a combination of five vaccines, is used in immunising children against five diseases — Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hepatitis B and Hemophilus Influenza. “This award is one of the growth drivers which would have a significant impact on our overall performance in the coming years,” Panacea Biotec Joint Managing Director Rajesh Jain said in a statement.
Pentavalent vaccines are used by agencies like United Nations Children’s Fund to vaccinate millions of children in the developing world.
The company claims EasyFive is the world’s first fully liquid pentavalent vaccine. The drug was introduced in India by Panacea Biotec in January 2005. The company received the pre-qualification for EasyFive by World Health Organization (WHO) in July last year.
Under its overall strategy to garner a firm foothold in various immunisation programmes across the globe, Panacea Biotec has partnered with WHO and Unicef in their effort to maximise coverage of vaccines.
Shares of Panacea advanced 5 per cent to hit its upper trading limit of Rs 174 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.