Singapore: The Government of Pharmaceutical Organization, Thailand, recently announced that the attenuated Japanese encephalitis vaccine has received approval from the World Health Organization.

In her capacity as the senior director of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation - Merieux Biological Products Co, Ms Patchara Kootiratrakarn, said that the certification will enable the organization to export the vaccine to any country.

Merieux Biological Products is a joint venture with Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO), a subsidiary of the Crown Property Bureau and Sanofi Pasteur. 

"The vaccine has also passed the standards of Thailand's GPO and Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration,"stated Ms Kootiratrakarn. "The company is now discussing with the National Health Security Office (NHSO) t possibility of using this newly-developed vaccine in Thailand."

The demand in the Thai market for the vaccine is around 10,000 doses. Ms Kootiratrakarn further said that this development took the country a step closer to realizing the goal of becoming Asean's vaccine hub.