By Shailesh Yadav

Tokyo [Japan], August 24 (ANI): Japanese pharmaceutical major Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd. is set to collaborate with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to manufacture and market the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine in India, in a move aimed at deepening India-Japan pharmaceutical ties.

The development follows a meeting between Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Toshiaki Nagasato, President and Representative Director of Meiji Seika Pharma.

Speaking to ANI in an exclusive interview after the meeting, Nagasato said Meiji already has a manufacturing presence in India through its subsidiary, Medreich Limited, based in Bengaluru. He said Medreich supplies generic medicines globally, including to the UK, Canada, and other countries across Europe and Africa, and that the company is scaling up its production capacity.

On the vaccine partnership, Nagasato said Meiji has a technology collaboration with SII and intends to transfer the technology for its Japanese Encephalitis vaccine currently marketed in Japan by its subsidiary, KM Biologics Co., Ltd. to the Indian firm. He said SII is expected to apply for regulatory approval in India as early as next year, after which the vaccine would be made available to children in the country.

'We can't say how much we are planning to invest in India, as we are still at the strategy stage,' Nagasato said, adding that Meiji had urged the minister to help accelerate the approval process for the vaccine in India.

He expressed confidence that SII, known for manufacturing vaccines at some of the lowest costs globally, would be able to launch the JE vaccine at an affordable price. He also noted that technical officials from SII had already visited Japan to study the underlying vaccine technology as part of the collaboration.

Announcing the meeting on X, Goyal said the discussion centred on strengthening India-Japan cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector and exploring avenues to expand the company's manufacturing and R&D footprint in India. He added that India's pharmaceutical ecosystem offers significant opportunities for Japanese partners to scale up and achieve long-term growth. (ANI)