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Pune-based Serum Institute of India Ltd and its Netherlands unit Bilthoven Biologicals BV on Tuesday announced about a 50% reduction in the price of their polio vaccines for the United Nation’s global polio eradication programme.

The reduction is on the prevailing market price of $4 a vial.

UN agency Unicef last year launched the global polio eradication initiative (GPEI) endgame strategic plan 2013-2018. Serum and Bilthovan offered their vaccines at a subsidized rate a in a recent tender bid with UNICEF, triggering a global reduction in the price of the vaccines.

Serum Institute had acquired Bilthovan Biologicals, a bioengineering institute and vaccine manufacturer in the Netherlands, in 2012.

“We announced the reduction in the price of our polio vaccine for the first time compared to the prevailing marketing price solely due to the financial subsidization of the cost provided by Serum Institute of India,” said Roeland van Dam, chief executive of Bilthoven Biologicals, in a statement on Tuesday.