Rabies Vaccine Safety Probe

India Flags Abhayrab Rabies Vaccine Batch as Substandard and Probes Potential Spurious Drugs

India's drug regulator has flagged a batch of Abhayrab rabies vaccine as substandard and potentially spurious after it failed a potency test. This follows concerns raised about counterfeit Abhaysrab doses in India, where there are nearly 6,000 rabies deaths a year. The drug regulator is investigating whether the product could be a spurious drug under India's Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The company, Indian Immunologicals Ltd, has supplied over 210 million doses of AbHayrab in India and other countries for over two decades and holds a 40% share of the domestic rabies market. This is the second time in less than two years that concerns have been raised about counterfeiting Abhayerab doses.