Pristine Biologicals inaugurates new facility in Dargaville, NZ

New Delhi: Pristine Biologicals NZ Ltd, a subsidiary of Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL), which belongs to the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in India, has inaugurated a new facility in Dargaville for the production of sterile filtered serum.

The facility was inaugurated by Meenesh C Shah, Chairman, Indian Immunologicals Ltd, in the presence of Dr Jason Smith, Mayor, Dargaville; Dr K Anand Kumar, Managing Director, IIL; and Dr Vijay Dasari, GM & Director, Pristine Biologicals (NZ) Limited.

The facility was established in Dargaville, Kaipara District in 2015 for the production and supply of pharmaceutical grade bovine serum used to produce many vaccines and is considered a very successful venture. It is pertinent to note that the serum from New Zealand and Australia has premium value since those countries are free from OIE listed diseases. Pristine has been able to produce and supply several hundred tonnes of quality serum to Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL) in India and other countries.

The requirement for bovine serum for use in biologics manufacture has gone up many folds, and to meet the demands of the world markets, it is important to augment the capacities and also bring in more value-added products, the company feels. Many vaccine manufacturers in India have expressed difficulty in obtaining quality serum and have sought the help of IIL through the government. In a recent visit to IIL, Hyderabad, Secretary DADF requested IIL to ramp up serum production capacity at Pristine NZ and also make it available to Indian companies on a priority basis.

Speaking on the occasion of the plant expansion, Shah said, "I am glad that an investment made overseas by Indian Immunologicals has come good. The affordable vaccines made in India required a sustainable supply of quality ingredients made by Pristine.”

Dr Kumar also said the company was a success story and said that plans are on the way to double the capacity soon as demands have gone up significantly.