Researchers worldwide are working around the clock to find a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts estimate that a fast-tracked vaccine development process could speed a successful candidate to market in approximately 12-18 months – if the process goes smoothly from conception to market availability.
WHAT GOES ON BEHIND A VACCINE ?
Nothing coming in the head? Well many of us don’t know what’s in there exactly.
LET’S FIND OUT TOGETHER!
Syringes:
“Even if millions of doses of vaccine are ready to go by January, as the NIH’s Anthony Fauci a few weeks ago said could happen, there may not be enough needles and syringes to deliver those doses.”
What’s a syringe?
A medical device that is used to inject fluid into, or withdraw fluid from, the body. A medical syringe consists of a needle attached to a hollow cylinder that is fitted with a sliding plunger. The downward movement of the plunger injects fluid; upward movement withdraws fluid. Medical syringes were once made of metal or glass, and required cleaning and sterilization before they could be used again. Now most syringes used in medicine are made of plastic and disposable.
Prefilled syringes are anticipated to dominate the market.The syringe market is segmented on the basis of usage and application. By usage, the market is further segmented into sterilizable/reusable syringes, disposable syringes, and prefilled syringes.
VACCINATING INDIA- THE BEGINNING TO THE END OF COVID 19 PANDEMIC
For a country of 1.3 billion population, to reach a herd immunity level of 60%, India would likely have to immunise 780 million people. Apart from mass manufacturing vaccines, the country is also expected to need vials and syringes for dosage, which experts have said will be a major bottleneck for immunisation against the highly contagious respiratory disease.
The Indian Medical Devices Industry is currently valued at Rs. 75,000 crores and expected to become as large as Rs. 4,00,000 crores by FY 2025.
THE INDIAN COMPANY TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Hindustan Syringes & Medical Devices (HMD) one of the Top 5 Manufacturers of Disposable Syringes in the World and the largest for Auto Disable Syringes is India‘s leading Medical Device Manufacturer with offices in USA and UK and has an annual turnover of approximately US$ 100 million.
CURRENT STOCKPILE: 50 million
ORDERS FROM UNICEF: 300 million
NEEDED FOR INDIA: 100 million by the end of this year
CURRENT CAPACITY: 700 million
UPGRADED CAPACITY (Q1-2021): 1 billion
THE STAR PRODUCT OF HMD:
Glass Vials:
A vial (also known as a phial or flacon) is a small glass or plastic vessel or bottle, often used to store medication as liquids, powders or capsules. They can also be used as scientific sample vessels; for instance, in autosampler devices in analytical chromatography.
BOROSCILATE GLASS: THE KEY TO HEALTH GLASS MANACTURING
Borosilicate glass is a type of glass with silica and boron tri-oxide as the main glass-forming constituents. Such glass is subjected to less thermal stress and can withstand temperature differentials.
INDIAN COMPANIES TO WATCH OUT FOR:
SCHOTT KAISHA has a contribution of about six per cent towards the global supply of glass packaging products, as it supplies more three billion pieces out of approximately 50 billion pieces produced and sold globally per annum.
SCHOTT KAISHA is supplying vials for COVID-19 vaccines to Serum Institute (India) and several other players. The joint venture operates four manufacturing facilities in the country located in Jambusar and Umarsadi in Gujarat, Daman, and Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. In addition, the company produces the pharma glass tubing for the packaging itself at its global sites including one in Jambusar in Gujarat.
SADLY ITS NOT LISTED.
Piramal Glass operates four manufacturing plants: two in India, and one each in Sri Lanka and the USA. According to its website it makes 1475 tonnes of glass a day with 12 furnaces and 65 production lines.It recently completed the first stage of its digital transformation in its plants and worked with companies including Microsoft to implement the new technology. Piramal Glass is also equipped to add more production capacity to meet the new market demand. Piramal Glass has 45 TPD dedicated capacity for Type I glass at Kosamba, India.
Its parent company PIRAMAL ENTERPRISES is a listed company.
Borosil Renewables Limited manufactures glass products. The Company offers industrial, pharmaceutical, and volumetric glassware products. Borosil Renewables offers bottles, burette, pipettes, flasks, condensers, ground joints, extractors, and other related products.
Scientific glass is about 25 -30 per cent of the company’s portfolio.
Speaking on the opportunities and the company’s preparedness to leverage them, he emphasises, “We estimate the demand caused by COVID-19 in the first year will be around two billion. As the cost of production in this country is best in the world, a lion’s share of filling the vaccine once it is developed can come to India. Therefore, we have lined up large investments in this segment and is well prepared to supply for any vaccine or drug.” Says MD BOROSIL.
ALTHOUGH THE STOCK IS IN A CORRECTION MODE , WE ADVISE TO ACCUMULATE THIS AT THESE LEVELS AND ON FURTHER DIPS TOO.
STOCK PICKS FROM VIALS RAW MATERIAL SUPPLIERS:
1. INDIA BORAX AND CHEMICALS:
2. EMPIRE INDUSTRIES:
CYCLIC OLEFIN COPOLYMER- AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE SHORTAGE OF GLASS VIALS:
COC is a long-established alternative to borosilicate glass for the fabrication of medical syringes and containers and is also routinely used to manufacture disposable diagnostic containers.
The material’s extremely low leachables and extractables, along with its non-polar, low reactivity surface and broad global regulatory compliance make it ideal for diagnostic disposables and for packaging of vaccines and therapeutic agents.
The material provides ultra-high purity and its inert nature prevents interference with reactions and analyses. Other attributes include its optical performance (91% clarity), UV transparency, and low birefringence.
21 CENTURY POLYMERS is one of the largest manufacturers of COC.
Diagnostics:
As the number of asymptomatic Covid-19 cases shows a rising curve, there is an increasingdesire among people to know if they have already encountered the virus without their ownknowledge and turned ‘immune’.
Capitalising on this and in the absence of regulations, many private labs have jumped in to offer testing to detect protective ‘antibodies’ against Covid-19 in healthy individuals at rates varying from ₹500 to ₹1,250 per test.
COMPANIES TO BENEFIT FROM RISE IN PRIVATE TESTING:
As one of the top pathology labs in India, Dr Lal PathLabs has a very strong focus on hiring and retaining top quality manpower to drive our different departments within and outside the labs. Despite our size, we maintain an environment that nurtures some of the top thinkers in India in their respective fields of expertise.
Over 3000 individuals work at the Dr Lal PathLabs in India with over 55 percent of the staff in laboratory functions. We have a qualified team of 147 pathology specialists, 8 Radiologists, 13 Microbiologists, 5 Biochemists and 11 specialists with doctorate degrees. Also, there is a growing pool of young leadership from top institutions like AFMC, IIMs, IITs, XLRI, SP JAIN amongst others.
Lal Pathlabs charges ₹950 for the total antibody test, and ₹1,400 for the IgG test.
The June quarter saw a fall in the top line by about 21 per cent year-on-year. But if one looks at the June month, we saw a growth of about 14 per cent YoY, a part of this might be due to the pent up demand, increased tests outsourcing by the government for RTPC Tests and a favourable low base. In the month of June, 90 per cent of non-covid business is back. In July, we are seeing a continuation of this trend for the non-covid business, SAYS CFP DR. LAL PATH LABS.
Swabs:
A Nasopharyngeal culture is a quick, painless test used to diagnose upper respiratory infections. These are infections that cause symptoms like a cough or a runny nose. The test can be completed in your doctor’s office.A culture is a way of identifying infectious organisms by allowing them to grow in a laboratory. This test identifies disease-causing organisms that live in the secretions at the back of your nose and throat.
For this test, your secretions are collected using a swab.
SUPARSHVA SWABS- THE GAME CHANGER:
Till March 2020, polyester swabs for COVID-19 testing were not manufactured in India. They were imported from China or the US. With global demand for the swabs on the rise, it became more difficult and expensive to source them for domestic use. One Indian company that is making a big difference is Delhi-based Suparshva Swabs, which makes personal hygiene products such as cotton buds, cotton balls, and special swabs under the Tulips brand.
In mid-April, the Ministry of Textiles and the Department of Health Research (DHR) approached the company to develop the swabs.
The company is currently producing 5 million swabs per week and has an additional capacity to produce 30 million swabs per week.
Cold Supply Chain:
According to the storage norms (temperature, quantity and duration) of vaccines at different levels of stores, various types of cold chain devices are used. Most of the cold chain devices in India are electrically powered. In some states, solar driven cold chain devices are also in use. The types of cold chain devices in use in India are as follows.
INDIAN COMPANIES WHICH COULD BENEFIT FROM THE DEMAND OF DEEP FREEZERS AND REFRIGERATORS:
Voltas Ltd. is one of the world`s premier engineering solutions providers and project specialists.The business area of the company includes:Electro-Mechanical Projects & Services-Electrical, Mechanical & Refrigeration Solutions.Electrical & Mechanical Solutions (international).Water Management & Treatment.Engineering Products & Services-Textile Machinery.Mining & Construction Equipment.Materials Handling Equipment.Unitary Cooling Products-Air Conditioners.Commercial Refrigeration.Water Coolers & Dispensers.
Blue Star Ltd. offers a wide range of cooling solutions for all types of customers.The product offered by the company include Central & packaged Air-conditioning Systems i.e. they provide a range of chillers, air handling units & fan coil units,Cooling products like refrigeration products & systems, window & split airconditioners and Professional Electronics & Industrial system like analytical instruments, medical electronics, data communication products, material testing, and test and measuring instruments..The company also in the business activities of Cooling Products, Professional Electronics & Industrial Systems, Electro-Mechanical Projects & Packaged Air-conditioning Systems.
Amber Enterprises India Pvt Ltd, a part of Amber Group, is one of the largest original equipment manufacturer of white goods in India. Its product list includes Split & Window Air Conditioners for commercial and residential use, Heat exchanger, Multi Flow Condensers, Home appliances like Washing Machines, Refrigerators & Microwaves, Auto Parts, etc.The company also engaged in the business of Consumer durable products.
Analysts say Amber can be major beneficiary of the government’s move (AATMANIRBHAR BHARAT)to promote local manufacturing of consumer durable products to build self-dependence.
CAN YOU GUESS THE INDIAN COLD SUPPLY CHAIN COMPANY WHICH COULD BENEFIT FROM THE MOVE?
ITS OUR FAVORITE!
Container Corporation of India Ltd. is engaged in the business of transportation through containerization. Over the years, CONCOR has diversified into several container logistics activities such as container port, Air cargo Complex, Air Freight Station, Warehousing, Logistics Park, Supply chain management etc.The company`s core business is characterized by three distinct activities, that is of a carrier, a terminal operator, and a warehouse operators.
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