Serum Institute becomes the first body across the world to be commissioned by the WHO to develop a vaccine against latest strain of H1N1 flu virus

Eight scientists of the Pune-based 42-year-old Serum Institute of India Ltd (SIIL) have been entrusted the all-important task of developing a vaccine against the new strain of the deadly H1N1 influenza virus, commonly known as swine flu.

The SIIL is the first body across the world commissioned by the WHO to develop the vaccine. While vaccines against the H1N1 exist, they are unlikely to be effective against the latest strain of the virus, which broke out last week and has already claimed 30 lives and infected at least 1,509 in 21 countries. As of now, there are drugs like Tamiflu to treat swine flu.u00a0

2 year-development
Dr Suresh Jadhav, the executive director of SIIL, said it could take two years before the new vaccine is developed, butu00a0 the WHO has shown keen interest in SIIL's attempts to undertake the mass production of the vaccine against H1N1.