# Meiji Seika ties with SII to launch JE vaccine in India 2026-08-25T01:51:18+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Meiji Seika Pharma has partnered with Serum Institute of India to bring a Japanese Encephalitis vaccine to the country. The SII will seek regulatory approval next year and market the shot at the lowest possible cost, according to Meiji Seika's pharma COO Toshiaki Nagasato, who met commerce minister Piyush Goyal in Tokyo on Monday. Meiji Seika also owns Indian subsidiary Medreich Pharma, acquired in 2014, and is looking to expand its generics capacity in India as well as exports to the UK, Canada and Africa. The company declined to disclose the investment amount. The WHO recognises three types of JE vaccines, Japan's technology combined with SII's low-cost manufacturing is intended to help protect Indian children. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Japanese encephalitis is a leading cause of viral encephalitis in Asia, with children bearing the heaviest burden. The WHO estimates about 68,000 clinical cases occur globally each year. India runs a routine immunisation programme that already includes a locally produced vaccine, but the Meiji-Seika Serum Institute partnership brings a different technology platform. The key hurdle, as the companies signal, is the regulatory approval process under India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation. That clearance and the final per-dose price the Serum Institute sets will determine how quickly the vaccine reaches the National Immunisation Schedule. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Leads with the commercial and investment angle, frames government interaction as a routine business meeting, no critical or evaluative stance on the government. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Japanese Encephalitis, Meiji Seika Pharma, Piyush Goyal, Serum Institute of India Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/meiji-seika-ties-with-sii-to-launch-je-vaccine-in-india/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/meiji-seika-ties-with-sii-to-launch-je-vaccine-in-india/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/