Pristine Biologicals NZ, a subsidiary of Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL) has inaugurated a new facility in Dargaville for the production of sterile-filtered serum. The facility was inaugurated by Meenesh C Shah, Chairman of Indian Immunologicals and National Dairy Development Board, in the presence of Dr Jason Smith, the Mayor of Dargaville, Dr K Anand Kumar, MD, IIL, Dr Vijay Dasari, GM and Director, Pristine Biologicals (NZ) and many dignitaries.

The requirement for bovine serum from New Zealand for use in biologics manufacture has gone up many folds and to meet the demands of the world markets, it is important to augment the capacities and also bring in more value-added products, the company feels. 

Many vaccine manufacturers in India have expressed difficulty in obtaining quality serum and have sought the help of IIL through the Government. In a recent visit to IIL, Hyderabad, Secretary Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries (DADF) requested IIL to ramp up serum production capacity at Pristine NZ and also make it available to Indian companies on a priority basis.