The US Government’s development finance institution, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), announced its commitment of a long-term loan of up to US $20 million to Panacea Biotec Limited, a leading research based biotechnology company in India.

Panacea Biotec has developed the world’s first whole-cell pertussis (wP) and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV)-based, fully liquid hexavalent vaccine, called EasySix, and launched this vaccine in India in March 2017.

The wP-IPV-based hexavalent vaccination is an innovative immunization alternative to the current pentavalent and standalone IPV vaccines, which will lead to less vaccination sessions and higher coverage. The World Health Organization and Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization approved adoption of this hexavalent vaccine in the global immunization program. Following this, Gavi and the Pan American Health Organization also adopted the hexavalent vaccine.

UNICEF forecasts the demand for a wP-IPV-based hexavalent vaccine for Gavi countries to be 19 million doses in 2025 and over 100 million doses by 2030. This is an exceptionally impactful project for DFC given Panacea’s worldwide reach and potential to save millions of lives.

Panacea Biotec is expanding manufacturing capacity for drug substance antigens used in its hexavalent vaccine EasySix to meet future demand from UN agencies and public health organizations. DFC has agreed to provide a long-term loan of up to $20 million to Panacea Biotec to help finance this project. DFC and Panacea Biotec signed a commitment letter for this financing on September 12, 2024. DFC’s financing will enable Panacea Biotec to expedite completion of the ongoing expansion and supply the hexavalent vaccine to U.N. agencies for childhood immunization globally.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Rajesh Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Panacea Biotec said, “We are excited to have DFC as our partner in our mission to protect children from critical diseases by providing innovative and affordable vaccines across the globe. Our hexavalent vaccine EasySix, which meets the highest standards of safety and efficacy, will have a meaningful impact on the lives of millions of newborns in the developing world.”

Nisha Biswal, Deputy CEO, DFC said, "Our partnership with India is both local and global. DFC is working to deliver concrete developmental impact for communities across India, and we are partnering with the Indian private sector to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”