Recombinant Hepatitis E Vaccine (Hecolin®) to Be Launched in Pakistan
30 OCT. 2020 - Recombinant Hepatitis E Vaccine (Hecolin®) manufactured by Xiamen Innovax Biotech Co., Ltd (“INNOVAX”) has been officially approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan(DRAP) on 28 Oct., 2020, making Pakistan the first foreign country to launch Hecolin®.
Hepatitis E is prevalent all over the world and is caused by the Hepatitis E virus. As per WHO position paper, it is estimated that 20 million people are infected with hepatitis E virus every year, about 44,000 people died of hepatitis E in 2015. In Pakistan, sporadic cases of hepatitis E occur throughout the year. An outbreak of hepatitis E occurred in Lahore in early 2019, it was reported that around 300 patients were diagnosed with hepatitis E on daily basis in Lahore, the capital city of province Punjab*. At present, Hecolin® is the only available vaccine against Hepatitis E. With the launch of Hecolin® in Pakistan, more people will benefit from the vaccine.
About BF Biosciences Limited
BF Biosciences Limited, founded in 2006, is a joint venture between Ferozsons Laboratories Limited and the Bago Group of Argentina and Pakistan’s first biopharmaceutical production facility, designed to USFDA standards. As a pioneer in the Biotechnology sector in Pakistan, BF Biosciences Limited has also helped Pakistan join the select group of companies that are exporting biotech pharmaceuticals. Exports have already commenced to Asian Markets.
To learn more about BF Biosciences Limited, please visit www. bfbio.com
Innovax is a high-tech enterprise in China that has established a core-platform using recombinant technology to express protein in E. coli for vaccine development and commercialization. Based on this platform, the world’s first Hepatitis E Vaccine, Hecolin® was launched in China in October 2012 followed by a cervical cancer vaccine-Cecolin® (HPV16&18 bivalent,) which was also approved in China in December 2019. Furthermore, a 9-valent HPV vaccine is its phase III clinical trial. To learn more about INNOVAX, please visit www.innovax.cn/en/index.aspx.
Reference: Muhammad Salman, Zia Ul Mustafa & Noman Asif (2019) Hepatitis E outbreak in the province of Punjab, Pakistan: a call for action, Infectious Diseases, 51:8, 633-634, DOI: 10.1080/23744235.2019.1632473
