Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The Odisha Drugs Controller Directorate has given city-based Noble Pharmacare Limited the licence to manufacture 0.5 ml Auto Disable (AD) syringes.
According to the reports, these syringes are recommended by the WHO and UNICEF for mass immunization programmes because of their single-use nature.
Subrat Garabadu, Managing Director stated that they saw the on-coming demand and revamped their existing production line to design a 0.5 ML syringe. The indigenously developed it and then applied for a licence with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). The company was established in 1989 with the technical collaboration of Germany-based PharmaPlan.
Bigger syringes lead to wastage of the vaccines, and hence these 0.5 ml syringes are required. There are only three manufacturers of 0.5 ml auto-disable syringes in the country.
Last month, the Odisha State Medical Corporation Limited (OSMCL) floated tenders for procurement of 1.06 crore 0.5 ml AD syringes and there had been no bidders.
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