'No fake Abhayrab vaccine exported': Indian Immunologicals clarifies after Delhi Police seize counterfeit rabies vaccine batch

New Delhi: Indian Immunologicals Ltd confirmed that no part of the counterfeit Abhayrab rabies vaccine batch seized from a residential premises in Delhi was exported, in a reassurance to international health authorities that had issued alerts over possible distribution of fake lots of the widely used vaccine.

The confirmation came after the Delhi Police arrested four people following the seizure of fake Abhayrab vials carrying Batch No. KE25012.

India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation said the drug regulatory body and law enforcement agencies were maintaining strict and continuous surveillance against illegal manufacturing, distribution and supply of misbranded and spurious drugs.


"The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police has been undertaking continuous surveillance to identify criminal activities related to the manufacture and distribution of misbranded and spurious drugs. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation works in close coordination with the Delhi Police and other enforcement agencies whenever leads relating to such criminal activity emerge," it said in a notice.

Through a communication dated August 27, the Drugs Controller General of India directed state drugs controllers to alert their inspectorate staff and maintain strict vigilance over the movement, distribution and availability of the batch of the vaccine.

On Saturday, the manufacturer of Abhayrab stated that each batch of the vaccine was released for sale only after independent testing and getting batch-release certification from the government's vaccine testing laboratory: the Central Research Institute, Kasauli.

"Vaccines administered at hospitals, clinics and government healthcare facilities, or dispensed through licensed pharmacies, therefore reach patients through the authorised and regulated supply chain, following the prescribed quality-control and batch-release procedures," it said.

"It has also been confirmed that no part of the batch concerned was exported to any other country," the notice said.

This is not the first time Abhayrab has been targeted by counterfeiters. In January 2025, a fake batch was identified and removed from the market, triggering alerts from health authorities in the US, UK and Australia for travellers who may have received the vaccine in India.

The vaccine holds a 40% market share in India, costs Rs 300-390 per dose and has been supplied to 43 countries.