Biological E Limited (BE), a pharmaceutical and vaccine company based in Hyderabad, on Monday said it has bagged a tender worth over Rs 895 crore for supplying ‘ComBE Five’, a 5-in-1 Liquid Pentavalent Vaccine (LPV), to the union health ministry over a period of two years.

The vaccine would be inducted into the government’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) and give a boost to Mission Indradhanush, an initiative to empower the UIP and extend full immunization coverage to at least 90 percent of all children in the country.

Mahima Datla, managing director, Biological E Limited, said, “We are proud to be at the forefront of the Universal Immunization Programme of India since it aims at saving millions of precious lives of children.”

BE’s ComBE Five received the World Health Organization’s pre-qualification on May 18, 2012. The vaccine consists of Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hib (Haemophilus Influenza Type b) and Hepatitis B. BE makes all the five components of the vaccine in house, a spokesperson of the company told India Medical Times.

According to BE, more than 200 million doses of its ComBE Five vaccine have been administered to children around the world till date.

ComBE Five is a 5-in-1, “convenient and safe” vaccine that provides “effective” protection for children from six weeks of age against five deadly diseases: Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hepatitis B and Meningitis & Pneumonia caused by Hib, according to the company.

The ComBE Five vaccine is expected to make a significant contribution to reducing the ‘Under 5 Years Mortality’ rates in India.

BE is already supplying DPT, Hepatitis-B Vaccine and Tetanus Toxoid to the government’s universal immunization programme (UIP), the spokesperson said.

As part of its expansion in Telangana, BE is investing more than Rs 500 crore in building new facilities over a period of three years to augment its production capacity for vaccines as well as complex generics. This is expected to generate additional employment for over 600 people, according to a statement.