The Delhi Drugs Control Department has seized 481 units of a counterfeit rabies vaccine from a firm in Central Delhi’s Bhagirath Palace and traced the supply to an agency in Kanpur, prompting raids in both cities and an investigation into the wider distribution network.
The seized product was Purified Vero Cell Rabies Vaccine, sold under the brand name Abhayrab. Human Biologicals Institute, Telangana, the human health and vaccine division of Indian Immunologicals Limited, confirmed that the batch was counterfeit and had not been released by the original manufacturer.
The action followed raids at three premises linked to the Delhi firm, conducted on the direction of Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh. Of the seized stock, 120 vials were collected as legal samples and sent to the Central Research Institute in Kasauli for testing. The remaining 361 units, along with seven purchase invoices, were seized under relevant provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
During questioning, the Delhi firm told investigators that it had sourced the vaccine from an agency in Kanpur. The information was passed to the Uttar Pradesh State Drug Department, which raided two locations, including premises of the Kanpur agency, and confirmed that the agency was the source of the supply reaching Delhi.
The Delhi Drugs Control Department is now tracing the distribution network to determine where else the counterfeit stock may have been supplied. The action follows an August 27 communication from the Drugs Controller General of India to state drug-control departments, asking them to increase vigilance over the movement, distribution and availability of a misbranded vaccine batch.
Singh said the crackdown would cover spurious medicines beyond rabies vaccines, including products used in cancer and tuberculosis treatment. “These drugs affect public health, and that is why our policy against them is strict, without exception,” he told The Indian Express.
The minister also said the government had a “zero-tolerance policy” towards the sale of spurious vaccines and that action would be taken against suppliers outside Delhi. Rabies is fatal once clinical symptoms develop, making the reliability of post-exposure vaccination critical for people bitten by potentially infected animals.
Indian Immunologicals Limited has said every batch of Abhayrab undergoes independent government testing before release. The company has also stated that vaccines supplied through authorised channels, including hospitals and licensed pharmacies, remain unaffected.
The seizure comes amid India’s continuing rabies burden. A 2025 study by the Indian Council of Medical Research, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases and based on a nationwide survey of nearly 79,000 households, estimated that 5,726 people die from human rabies in India each year. The study also found that dogs caused three out of every four animal bites. The Delhi and Uttar Pradesh drug-control departments’ next steps are expected to focus on testing the seized samples and identifying the full route of distribution.
