KARACHI: In a groundbreaking leap for Pakistan’s healthcare and biotechnology sectors, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) has successfully formulated the country’s first-ever lab-scale indigenous anti-rabies vaccine.
According to government estimates, rabies, primarily transmitted through dog bites, causes between 2,000 to 5,000 deaths annually in Pakistan. While many receive life-saving vaccines, exact data on recoveries remains unclear. The demand for doses is believed to run into millions each year.
Pakistan now spends around Rs26 billion each year on imported vaccines. This is possible with the help of GAVI, UNICEF, and WHO. But this support will end by 2031. After that, vaccine costs could rise to Rs100 billion, almost four times the federal health budget.
To address this looming crisis, DUHS has taken a significant step forward. After launching Dow Rab, a vaccine developed using Chinese raw materials last year, the university has now developed its own biomolecule, a local breakthrough that marks a new chapter in domestic vaccine production.
As per a recent statement, this new “purified, inactivated, lyophilised” vaccine has been developed from a locally isolated strain of the rabies virus. The initiative, supported by the World Bank and implemented via the Higher Education Commission (HEC), reflects years of research and global collaboration.
With successful lab-scale formulation complete, DUHS is preparing to produce clinical trial batches for evaluation by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP).
Industry experts have long warned of Pakistan’s vulnerability due to its reliance on external sources for vaccines. According to Farooq Mustafa, Director of Quality Operations and Biotech at Macter, Pakistan produces no antigens for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).
In an earlier statement, Mustafa noted Pakistan’s lack of seed banks, limited vaccine R&D in universities, weak regulatory frameworks, and shortage of clinical trial capacity, all of which have hindered local vaccine development.
DUHS’s success could not have come at a more critical time. As global vaccine support winds down, Pakistan must invest in building its biotech infrastructure, not only to ensure access but also to safeguard national health security.
If clinical trials succeed and regulators approve the vaccine, Pakistan will move closer to independent vaccine production. This step could save lives, cut costs, and build trust in the country’s scientific progress.