In an effort to make India self-reliant in manufacturing raw material for vaccines like adjuvants (which develop the immune system) and other chemicals, Hyderabad-based Bharat biotech has teamed up with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to work on technology and platforms for novel vaccines, drugs, and even raw materials.
On Monday, Bharat Biotech International, Biovet, and Sapigen Biologix signed a joint Master Collaborative Agreement (MCA) with CSIR- Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR- IICT) to work on developing new platform technologies for bio-therapeutics and vaccines to support indigenous, reasonable health care solutions for humans and animals.
The collaborators will identify mutually interesting projects of pursue, they said.
Both Biovet and Sapigen Biologix are firms promoted by Ella family, which is a promoter of Bharat Biotech.
Talking to the event, Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director (CMD) of Bharat Biotech, said several raw materials to make vaccines were imported.
Preservatives for vaccines are imported from
Germany and some raw material from the US.
Bharat Biotech, for example, utilizes an adjuvant from Kansas-based ViroVax for Covaxin.
The collaboration would look at chemicals and raw material like Beta propiolactone (BPL), Thimersol, and Microcarriers, which are often in shortage.
“India is not self-reliant in some of these vaccine raw materials. We will work with CSIR-IICT to develop these products, new drugs, and even new platforms,” Ella said.
For example, the collaboration is considering a platform such as mRNA, which, as per Shekhar Mande, director-general of the CSIR, has proven to be a powerful platform in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The IICT has a lipid-laboratory. Lipid nano-particles play a strong role in the mRNA technology. Scientists are working on lipid nano-particles,” Mande said.
He added the technology platform held the potential for developing therapies for cancer too.
“India must have an mRNA platform, and in the coming few months, we should be able to bring this here,” Mande said.
He stated there were opportunities to create technologies for developing vaccines for many diseases.
The CSIR strategy group prior was meeting daily to deliberate on drugs, diagnostics, and vaccine to deal with Covid-19. It now meets twice a week.
It partnered with drug maker Cipla to synthesise favipiravir (chemical salt), which the firm sells under Ciplenza.
The company has also partnered Sun Pharamaceuticals on a herbal drug (phytopharmaceutical) that may be used in treating Covid-19.
The results from this clinical trial are likely in 10 days.
