Challenge
The World Health Organization estimates that 1.5 million children die every year from vaccine-preventable disease and a majority of children in low- and lower-middle-income countries miss at least one vaccine before their first birthday. Despite significant long-term progress in childhood immunizations, more recent trends show that progress has slowed, with the number of unvaccinated children more than tripling since 2021. In many developing countries, the cost and logistical challenges associated with manufacturing, transporting, and storing these vaccines pose hurdles to administering vaccines on schedule.
Solution and Impact
DFC committed a $20 million loan to Panacea Biotec Ltd. to help the company expand production of its “six-in-one” hexavalent vaccine that protects against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, pertussis, hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae type B.
Panacea is a 40-year-old biotechnology company and a major international supplier of vaccines and therapeutics that holds a patent for the hexavalent vaccine. By delivering six immunizations in a single shot, hexavalent dramatically reduces the costs and logistical challenges of administering vaccines in developing countries.
The company will use DFC financing to expand its manufacturing facilities in the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, to more than double production capacity to about 70 million doses per year.
This increased production capacity will help ensure more of the world’s children receive essential vaccines. The World Health Organization estimates that 25 million children worldwide were under-immunized in 2021, and more than 18 million received no immunizations. These so-called “zero-dose children” account for 33 percent of all child deaths from preventable
This project was profiled in 2024.