KARACHI: Pakistan's renowned medical university, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), has developed an anti-rabies vaccine (ARV), called 'Dow Rab', a dog bite vaccine that is made available to victims through a phone call.
Initially, this facility was introduced in Sindh province, and later it will spread across the country. The vaccine will be delivered to the desired location within 48 hours of a phone call, the varsity spokesperson said on Tuesday.
DUHS Vice-Chancellor Professor Muhammad Saeed Quraishy inaugurated the 'Dow Rab' in a simple ceremony.
On the occasion, he said that 30,000 doses of the locally manufactured ARV, which are manufactured by the Dow Institute of Life Sciences (DILS) at Ojha campus from imported raw materials, have been supplied to the distribution network.
Quraishy expressed determination that it will soon be manufactured in Pakistan from locally sourced raw materials. We currently depend on raw materials imported from China. Subsequently, efforts are being made to produce an additional 170,000 doses of ARVs, a hope for achieving this goal, he added.
DILS Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Syed Izhar Hussain, Dr Talat Roomi, Chief Marketing Officer Tariq Shahid, Dow Chief Commercial Officer Ahad Wasiq, M&P Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Mujeeb Ali Khan, M&P Chief Legal and Administrative Officer Munaf Lakda and CFO Muhammad Tariq Khan and others. They were also present on the occasion.
The vice-chancellor said that after years of rigorous research and regulatory measures by the country, Dow University has started commercial production of anti-rabies vaccine at the Ojha campus. Their complete course will be available for Rs 1,500.
It should be remembered that at the time of the coronavirus epidemic, Dow University developed immunoglobulin IVIG, with which hundreds of corona patients got a new life.
Earlier, in another ceremony, a letter of interest (LoI) was signed between Dow University and the Muller & Phipps distribution network.
On behalf of Dow University, Registrar Dr. Ashar Afaq signed the memorandum, according to which the distribution company will ensure availability of Dow Rab ARV across Pakistan in a phased manner.
Every year, approximately one million people are bitten by stray dogs in Pakistan, resulting in between 5,000 and 6,000 deaths due to rabies.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad reports that Pakistan needs more than 2 million doses of ARVs a year, and most of them are imported from India.
Pakistan is currently facing a severe shortage of rabies vaccines due to the price dispute.
Importers claim that due to the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar, prices of vaccines and other biological products need to be increased, and local manufacturing is also expected to stabilize prices.
