China To Help Pak Producing Hepatitis-B Vaccine

PakNews

BEIJING, China: Nov 22 (PNS) - China is prepared to help Pakistan producing hepatitis-B vaccine. This was stated by an official of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Zhang Wu while talking to APP in Beijing. He said the relevant institutions of the two countries could undertake joint venture to develop the vaccine.

A prominent Chinese institution, Wuhan Institute of Virology has already sent a formal offer to the relevant institution, through Pakistan Embassy in Beijing. "We are waiting for the response to enter into formal agreement," he added.

Zhang said, the vaccine will be specially prepared after carrying out intensive research according to the virus situation in Pakistan. The task could be completed in a period of three to four years.

According to the sources, China also has showed interest in assisting Pakistan's National Institute of Health (NIH) to expand its classic vaccine production capacity for Expanded Programme of Immunisation.

A Chinese delegation of Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences has recently visited Pakistan and had a meeting federal minister in-charge for science and technology Prof Atta-ur-Rehman desiring collaboration with Pakistan in vaccine production.

Pakistan has been producing oral polio vaccine, measles and tetanus toxoid to a limited extent. The Ministry of science and technology has lately formed a Vaccine Development Task Force (VDTF) to pave way for indigenous production of other vaccines.

The four-member delegation headed by Xianghu Ma, director of Shanghai Institute of Biological Products, had offered establishment of technological cooperation and trade relationships with Pakistan.

Owned by Chinese government, Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences is the first vaccine manufacturer having its offshore commitments. It is a multidisciplinary manpower structure consisting of the professionals in bioengineering, microbiology, immunology and biochemistry.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was founded in 1956. It is the only comprehensive institute carrying out the fundamental researches on general virology in the country and is one of the institutes which have entered the CAS knowledge Innovation Programs.

The institute consists of five departments. A molecular virology research lab, a joint-laboratory of invertebrate virology, a biological control lab, an analytical biochemistry and biotechnology lab, and a virus culture collection center.

China center for virus culture collection (CCVCC) is the largest virus bank in Asia. It collects about 700 different stains of viruses, which cover 90% of the known insect viruses being founded in China and cover 40% of those being reported in the world.

The End.



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