Bharat Biotech poised to be world’s largest anti-rabies vaccine producer

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech on Friday said it will acquire Chiron Behring Vaccines Pvt Ltd, a company that produces anti-rabies vaccine, for an undisclosed sum. 
According to Bharat Biotech, the proposed acquisition will help the company emerge as the world’s largest producer of anti-rabies vaccine.

Gujarat-based Chiron Behring is part of GlaxoSmithkline Asia (GSK), and has a single-product vaccine manufacturing company that has an installed capacity to produce 15 million doses of anti-rabies vaccine per year. Its revenues last year was pegged at Rs180 crore and employee count at over 250. Chiron Berhring is a WHO pre-qualified manufacturer of rabies vaccines, eligible for supplies to UN agencies and has product registrations in over 20 countries. 

On the other hand, Bharat Biotech currently produces 10 million doses of the anti-rabies vaccines a year. With Friday’s acquisition proposal, the total annual capacity of anti-rabies vaccines under the combined entity increases to 25 million doses, making it the world’s largest. “Bharat Biotech would acquire 100 per cent equity stake in Chiron Behring Vaccines in an all-cash transaction, subject to a number of closing conditions, which Bharat Biotech and GSK intend to complete in the coming weeks,” Krishna Ella, founder, Bharat Biotech said in a statement. 

According to Ella, the company proposes to shift 40-60 per cent of Chiron’s output to the domestic market as currently, just about 50 per cent of the rabies vaccine requirement is being met in the country.