BioCentury
ARTICLE | Emerging Company Profile

Shantha: Biotech by necessity

January 14, 2002 8:00 AM UTC

One in 20 Indians is infected with the hepatitis B virus, a disease that causes 1% of all adult deaths in the country and is a significant cause of infant mortality. A vaccine that is 95% effective in preventing infection has been available since 1982, but unlike other preventable infectious diseases, HBV protection has been provided to few Indian children until recently because the cost to inoculate a child was more than many parents could afford.

In 1992 Varaprasad Reddy, an electronic engineer with little knowledge of the drug industry, set out to satisfy India's need for a low-priced HBV vaccine. He succeeded, and in the process launched Shantha Biotechnics Pvt. Ltd., South Asia's first biotech company in the biomedical arena...