Indian Immunologicals Limited in collaboration with Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India and National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) recently conducted a “Conclave on Pandemic Preparedness & Vaccine Innovation” in Hyderabad.

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. 

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. 

Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary to Government of India, Dept of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, informed that government needs to spend more on animal health for better productivity and also better 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 not only offered affordability but also have 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.