Undercutting Even The Laudable PATH Initiative, Bharat Offers India A $1/Dose Version Of Merck's RotaTec®

Almost exactly four years ago today, I featured a story about Merck introducing the RotaTec^® rotavirus vaccine into India -- at an affordable price (in local Rupees) -- and suggested Mr. Frazier was a visionary for doing so.

It seems that, four years on -- much as we saw yesterday, in the Sovaldi^®/Bangladesh story -- local commerce has vaulted well ahead. . . of charity. And that's a good thing, globally.

From FiercePharma's fine story, this morning, then:

. . . .Back in 2011, Indian company Bharat Biotech pledged to offer its rotavirus prospect at a price that undercut even discounted vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline and Merck. Now, it's ready to make good on its promise.

The [company] has rolled out Bharat's three-dose vaccine, Rotavac, at a rate of around 60 rupees--or just under one U.S. dollar. . . .

[I]t's Bharat's new manufacturing process that consumers can thank for Rotavac's low price. The biotech has spent about $20 million to construct new facilities and supporting infrastructure at its Genome Valley plant, which boasts a capacity of 300 million doses per year, it said in a release. . . .

My March 2011 backgrounder may be found here. Onward, on a foggy but temperate Tuesday.