Leading vaccine manufacturer Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL) on March 27 announced that it has received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India and the State Drug Control Administration for manufacturing of measles-rubella (MR) vaccine.

This is the outcome of the India-Vietnam partnership, where IIL partnered with Vietnam's Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals, also called Polyvac, the vaccine maker said.

Under an exclusive agreement, Polyvac will supply the measles vaccine component to IIL and rubella vaccine components will be produced by IIL to manufacture a combined MR vaccine.

This live attenuated MR vaccine adds to the list of several other vaccines that IIL supplies to the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) of India. This vaccine has been proven through extensive human clinical trials to be immunogenic and safe for people of 9 months to 49 years.

"We started with humble beginnings with Polyvac in 2016 and worked tirelessly throughout, including the tough COVID-19 period. We have successfully completed all phases of product development to the satisfaction of the regulatory authorities in India," said Dr K Anand Kumar, Managing Director, Indian Immunologicals Ltd.

Causing severe, sometimes permanent, complications including pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, and even death, measles is caused by a virus that lives in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person and spreads easily through breathing, coughing, and sneezing. There is no specific antiviral drug available to treat measles. The best way is to prevent measles through vaccination.

The measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine is a safe and effective way to protect people from measles. Measles kills nearly 50,000 children every year in India. As there is not enough evidence to suggest that mumps is a disease of public health importance, the MR vaccine is being used instead of the MMR vaccine in India for routine immunisation.

India, along with other WHO Southeast Asia Region member countries, has resolved to eliminate measles and control rubella/congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). In this direction, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has been running a measles-rubella (MR) vaccination campaign in the age group of 9 months to less than 15 years in a phased manner across the nation.