India flags Abhayrab rabies vaccine batch as substandard, probes if spurious

India's drug regulator has flagged a batch of the widely used rabies vaccine Abhayrab as substandard and potentially spurious after it failed a potency test, a government document seen by Reuters shows.



The finding marks the second time in less than two years that concerns have been raised about counterfeit Abhayrab doses in India, a country that reports nearly 6,000 rabies deaths a year and where the vaccine is a frontline defence against the otherwise nearly always fatal infection.



Indian Immunologicals Ltd, which makes Abhayrab and holds a 40% share of the domestic rabies vaccine market, said on Saturday in a statement dated September 4 that the vials carrying the label Abhayrab that were examined by the regulator were not manufactured by the company.