The Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) has marked the first day of the year 2014 by launching the test of vaccines at the newly-built National Control Laboratory (NCL).
Initially, tetanus and typhoid vaccines of two local pharmaceuticals will be tested, while several types of other imported vaccines would also be tested in the near future.
Selim Barami, director (current charge) of the NCL and also one of the directors of the DGDA, confirmed this to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, adding that the operations of the NCL began although the lab was yet to be inaugurated.
“If we do not run the high-tech machines of the laboratory, then it would run the risk of becoming out-of-order. It is a proud day for all of us that we now have the capability to test vaccine,” he said.
The test of vaccines will save money and time of the government as well as pharmaceutical companies, Barami added.
Earlier, the imported vaccines had to depend on documents provided by the vaccine’s company, while local companies had to send samples out of the country for tests.
Sources said the government bought around 400 crore vaccines, among the demand of 500 crore; while two local companies – Incepta and Popular Pharmaceuticals – have also been producing vaccines.
However, several officials of the DGDA, seeking anonymity, claimed that the NCL did not have its own financial budget to administer the laboratory activities. Currently, the NCL has been running under the Institute of Public Health, which is providing the cost of day-to-day expenses and also supplying chemicals and other materials.
With a Tk25 crore cost, the NCL has been set up with the financial support of the World Bank and the World Health Organization on the premises of the Institute of Public Health in Mohakhali.
The installation of the laboratory had been completed a year ago, but it faced a delay in going into operation because of a fire accident which destroyed some equipment and cables, while additional fund was not available at the time from the government for repair and replacement.
Seeking anonymity, several senior officials of the DGDA also said there was a shortage of well-trained manpower at the NCL, although the laboratory was fully-equipped with modern machines and other testing facilities.
The newly installed lab is likely to test up to 10,000 medicine samples a year, compared to the existing laboratory’s capacity of testing only 3,000 medicine samples – an amount which was inadequate given the current size of the pharmaceuticals market.
The newly-installed lab is aiming to get WHO accreditation within a year, as inspection teams will visit and assess the NCL’s performance in different phases.