Pakistan imports poultry vaccines worth Rs6bln annually

LAHORE: Biotechnology has become the world's major industry to produce all preventive vaccines against human as well as livestock whereas Pakistan is importing poultry vaccine worth Rs6 billion every year.

This was stated by Vice-Chancellor of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz while addressing a workshop titled, "Molecular Diagnostics" organized by the UVAS Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology.

The UVAS VC said that Pakistan could make progress by leaps and bounds by adopting new vista of research and developing sciences.

He called upon pharmaceutical entrepreneurs and businessmen to join hands with UVAS on its unique project, Lahore Biotechnology Park. Dr Nawaz said, "Pakistan is importing preventive diagnostic and therapeutic biological for use in animals and human worth billions of dollars and only the poultry import is nearly Rs.6 billion per annum".

Director Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology Prof Dr Masroor Elahi Baber said that molecular diagnostics facilitated the detection and characterization of disease, drug response, identification of genetic modifiers, disease susceptibility and provides key epidemiology and surveillance data.

He explained the critical importance of advancements in molecular diagnostics and its benefits to public health in the workshop.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011