Zinc Dispersible tablets for Management of Diarrhoea in Infants and Children

Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences today unveiled Zinc dispersible tablets for treatment of diarrhea in infants and children in a press conference in New Delhi.

Zinc as an Immunomodulator Agent has been considered as a Novel Treatment for Childhood Infection particularly: Childhood diarrhoea; Pneumonia and Septicemia. More than 1.5 million children under five continue to die each year as a result of acute diarrhea. In India alone, more than 500,000 deaths occur annually due to childhood diarrhoea. The use of zinc along with oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is recommended by WHO to decrease the incidence and severity of diarrhea. Government has adopted policy of use of Zinc in treatment of diarrhoea in National Rural Health Mission in children < 5 years. DBT & WHO have developed simple, easily dispersible & cheap zinc tablets for the National Programme. Bharat Immunologicals & Biologicals Corporation Limited (BIBCOL) a Public Sector Undertaking of the Deptt.of Biotechnology has established GMP production facility for production of Zinc dispersible tablets.

Zinc Dispersible tablets, to be given for management of diarrhea in children aged 2 months to 5 years would provide children with 20 mg of elemental zinc supplementation per day for 10-14 days (10 mg per day for infants less than six months of age). Zinc Dispersible tablets become syrup after adding breast milk or water. The treatment should be started from the first day of diarrhea itself and a 14-day course should be completed even if diarrhea stops. The tablet is not only effective in stopping diarrhea but also prevents subsequent illness.

The dispersible zinc tablet, BIBZinc-20mg contains 20 mg of elemental zinc as active ingredient and contains sweetener and taste masker (Vanilla flavor) and is scored tablet. The product is in line with the recommendations of WHO. The product is produced with technology transfer from Nutriset (French Company) through Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. The Nutriset product has been tested in Indian fields and clinical trials have evaluated the efficacy of zinc supplementation and safety.

BIBCOL is ready with tablet manufacturing facility and trial batch has been produced. The company has a production capacity of 240 million tablets per annum and will soon come with commercial production. BIBCOL is aiming for standard quality product at lowly price for mass consumption.

Source: Press Inormation Bureau
Date: April 07, 2008