KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Domestic animal vaccine specialists Indian Immunologicals, Hester Biosciences, Brilliant and Biovet are likely to share almost the entire pie of soon-to-be-launched Rs 13,343 crore programme for vaccine supplies. The 5-year programme aims to immunise all cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and pig population in India. The amount includes the cost of vaccine as well as execution of the immunisation programme.
As part of the government's third tranche of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on last Friday announced a National Animal Disease Control Programme to cover around 53 crore animals, of which 1.5 crore cows and buffaloes have already been vaccinated. According to estimates, India has 14.6 crore female cows (total 19.3 crore male and female), 10 crore female buffaloes (total 11 crore male and female), 7.4 crore sheep, 14.9 crore goat and 90 lakh swine and they have to be vaccinated.
The main animal vaccines are Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) vaccines to protect against viral goat plague, Brucella vaccine to protect against Brucellosis and FMD vaccine to protect against Foot and mouth disease (FMD). Some countries cull the Brucella infected cattle. Highest incidence of Brucella is observed in the Mediterranean region, sub-Saharan Africa, China, India, Peru, and Mexico. Several countries in Western and Northern Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand have eradicated the disease.
"So far, the average Brucella vaccine market in India was about Rs 8 crore a year and this will catapult by twelve to fifteen times annually. The central government has already tendered 4.13 crore doses valuing approximately Rs 100 crore worth Brucella vaccines for the period up to September 2021," says Rajiv Gandhi, CEO and Managing Director of Ahmedabad-based Hester Biosciences.
The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) promoted Indian Immunologicals (IIL) and Hester Biosciences are the only two suppliers of Brucella vaccines in the country. Over 60 percent of Brucella vaccines requirement last year was supplied by Hester Biosciences, which hit headlines recently for foraying into human vaccine development with a vaccine for Covid-19, partnering with IIT Guwahati.
Similarly, in the case of PPR vaccines, the government requirement will be about 23 crore doses to vaccinate nearly 23 crore goats and sheep. The manufacturers of vaccines in the fray are only IIL, Hester and Biomed. This year, the government is expected to tender for 7 crore doses worth Rs 12 crore. In the case of FMD disease, the government has tendered for 92.5 crore doses for the period up to January 2021, covering cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep and swine valued at over Rs 1,000 crore. The main manufacturers of FMD vaccines are only domestic players like IIL, Brilliant and Biovet.
Apart from this, poultry vaccines are a major market worth Rs 350-450 crore and is growing at 6-10 percent. It is dominated by companies like Venkys India, Hester and a few multinational companies. The Indian animal healthcare industry is expected to grow to Rs 7,500 crore by the end of 2020, almost doubling from the Rs 3,920 crore in 2016. During this period, dairy healthcare products are expected to record a 12-15% CAGR while poultry could grow at 8-10%. The companion animal and other segments are expected to record a CAGR of 18-20% and 8-10%, respectively.
Of the Rs 7,500 crore, current cumulative vaccination market is less than Rs 1,300 crore as the disease control efforts are mainly confided to some state animal healthcare and livestock welfare departments. The cost of logistics of vaccines, tagging the animals and follow up tracking and related paraphernalia, is almost equivalent to the price of the vaccines. Institutional and private sales were only 10 percent of the market. Except in dog vaccination, the health vaccine market in the country is dominated by local companies.
Multinational animal vaccine companies so far have not seen India as a significant market and their presence is negligible.
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