Cipla Ltd. has announced that its South African subsidiary Cipla Medpro (Pty) Ltd. has entered into an exclusive agreement with the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute of India (SII) in South Africa.

Mr Paul Miller, CEO of Cipla Medpro, South Africa said: "This agreement will enable Cipla Medpro to become a significant player in the market. With a presence in 140 countries and 1.3 billion doses manufactured and sold, SII is an ideal ally for Cipla Medpro and this partnership will be instrumental in addressing the national vaccine shortage."

SII manufactures a variety of vaccine classes including vaccines for Polio, Diphtheria, Tetanus, BCG (Tuberculosis), Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps and Rubella; South Africa will be participating in the majority of these portfolios.

Mr Michel Baijot, head of Vaccines, Cipla Ltd., said, "This Cipla Medpro - SII agreement reflects again the complementarities of our two like-minded companies in bringing high quality, affordable vaccines to more countries."

The agreement stipulates that Cipla Medpro will become the holder of all Medical Control Council (MCC) regulatory approvals such as product registrations and marketing authorizations. Cipla Medpro has exclusivity and first right of refusal of the SII pipeline within South Africa.

Mr Adar Poonawalla, CEO and Executive Director, SII said: "SII is looking to extend the strong partnership it has with Cipla in Europe and India by working with Cipla Medpro in South Africa."