Livestock infra could provide -70°C storage

NEW DELHI: India’s livestock and agriculture research agencies, not the public health network, may have a solution to create storage facilities for Pfizer and BioNTech’s mRNA-based coronavirus vaccine, which requires -70°C temperature for long-term storage.

The vaccine has proven to be effective in preventing Covid-19 and has become the first inoculation to be approved for emergency use in several countries after large-scale testing. But it requires the lowest temperature among all vaccine options for long-term storage. A second vaccine based on the same mRNA platform, developed by Moderna, can be stored at -20°C, a requirement that India’s health infrastructure can easily meet.

A senior official involved in India’s coronavirus vaccination plans said: “National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal have refrigerators that can meet Pfizer’s requirements. Similarly, Indian Agriculture Research Institute (ICAR) too has the capacity.” The NDRI, a wing of the ICAR, has two stations in Bengaluru and West Bengal’s Kalyani. “These stations too have similar facilities and can be used as potential hubs for southern India and eastern India,” added the official, asking not to be named.

Dr Ajay Dang, the public relations officer of NDRI, told HT, “We have cold storages with (capacity) up to -80°C. These storages are used for storing embryo and semen samples of

animals. We have been contributing to combat the pandemic by supplying RT-PCR kits to the health ministry.” Another official said that ICAR has already collected information about its cold storage capabilities — overall, and not just specific to Pfizer — and has sent it to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

But the question of using NDRI or ICAR facilities will come only if Pfizer is able to secure emergency authorisation from Indian drug regulators. The subject expert committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation or CDSCO had asked Pfizer to present its case last week, but the vaccine maker sought more time to formally submit its papers for an emergency authorisation.

HT reported on December 7 that central authorities will sit down with Pfizer to negotiate pricing and also scrutinise the US-based company’s ability to deliver orders placed by the country.