For the first time in Pakistan, a locally produced rabies vaccine has been developed by the Dow University of Health Sciences.
The university has successfully created a “purified, inactivated, lyophilized” vaccine using rabies virus strains obtained within Pakistan. This marks the first fully indigenous rabies vaccine developed for human use in the country.
Currently, batches of the vaccine are being prepared for future clinical trials, pending regulatory approval.
According to details, the initial raw doses of the vaccine branded as DOW Rab were produced in 2024, with 30,000 doses delivered and plans underway to manufacture an additional 170,000 doses.
Each year, Pakistan imports approximately 2 million rabies vaccine doses. With local production now underway, this financial burden is expected to be significantly reduced by 2031. The vaccine is expected to play a crucial role in rural areas, where incidents of dog bites are more prevalent.
Although commercial production of the conventional version of the vaccine began in 2024, the advanced and fully human-use version was produced for the first time in 2025.
Following successful clinical trials and final approval, the vaccine will be produced and distributed nationwide.
