This is a unique conclave having diverse topics for discussion such as Animal Health, Human Health, Regulatory, Resilient supply chain for pandemic preparedness, Innovation, Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, Cell and Gene Therapy vaccines and Policy matters.
Dr Vinod K Paul, Member-Health, NITI AAYOG; Smt Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India; Dr Abhijit Mitra, Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Government of India; Shri Rama Shankar Sinha, Joint Secretary (Livestock Health), Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India; Dr K Anand Kumar, Managing Director, Indian Immunologicals Limited; Dr Sanjay Shukla, Member Secretary, Central Zoo Authority, Ministry of Environment, forests and Climate change; Dr B R Gulati, Director NIVEDI and many experts from various field of healthcare, stake holders from vaccine industry, CDSCO were present in the conference.
The world has witnessed Covid 19 one of the most contagious pandemics, a few years ago. Although the devastation of the pandemic is over, but it has made mankind to be resilient and fight against future pandemics.
When the nation was suffering huge losses due to several animal diseases including the economically devastating ‘Foot and Mouth disease’, when the Indian farmers had to pay huge price for vaccines during mid-seventies, it had an impact on the productivity and quality of milk. It is beyond doubt that good animal health is paramount for higher productivity and food security. Today, contribution of dairy and livestock sector to GDP is significant and it is growing every year. India is home to more than 20 per cent of livestock worldwide.
To protect precious livestock and human health, Government and many private organizations are engaged in active research to develop technologies for the future. It is therefore incumbent upon all the stake holders of vaccine and healthcare professionals to frequently come together and deliberate, exchange ideas, update knowledge about developments in the world and find solutions for the larger good of mankind.
India is known as a vaccine hub of the world and more than 60 per cent of the vaccines for the world is manufactured in India. Hyderabad is the vaccine bastion with more than 50 per cent of the vaccine manufacturers operate out of Hyderabad. There are many companies making vaccines, but very few are actively engaged in providing platforms for scientific fraternity to discuss, debate and exchange views. Indian Immunologicals Ltd is actively engaged in research on vaccines but also believes strongly in bringing the scientific fraternity coming together for national good. IIL on a call of national duty was able to roll out Covid 19 vaccine drug substance in record time saving millions of lives.
The objective of this conclave on “Pandemic preparedness and vaccine innovation” is to ideate, explore and collaborate on the learnings of the pandemic, and to build a more robust & resilient health care system. Several speakers from the national level and international level including FAO and CEPI presented. IIL planted 141 trees to make the one-day Conclave carbon neutral, which speaks volumes of IIL’s commitment to sustainability and reducing carbon foot print.
Speaking on the occasion Dr V K Paul informed that “One Health” approach is paramount to disease control and hence preparedness for pandemics with 100 days’ timeline will be the right way to prepare and face future pandemics. Smt. Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary to Government of India, Dept of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, informed that the Government needs to spend more on animal health for better productivity and supply chain and cold chain systems to make the last mile delivery effective. Dr Abhijit Mitra, Animal Husbandry Commissioner stressed upon vaccine security and need for pre-qualifications for animal vaccines.
Dr K Anand Kumar, Managing Director, IIL said that the company is the single largest contributor to the nation in achieving self-sufficiency in the field of vaccines. Many animal and human vaccines produced in millions by IIL have offered affordability and saved several million lives. He said that we as a society are at crossroads, faced with many issues and it is only collectively that the right path can be chosen.
