Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar-based Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), along with the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), have joined hands for the technology transfer and future commercialisation of a novel TB vaccine, officials said.
The three organisations signed a quadripartite license agreement (QLA) with TechInvention Lifecare Ltd, Monday, for the technology transfer and future commercialisation of ‘HSP Subunit Vaccine in Adjuvant (DDA) Against Mycobacterium tuberculosis’.
The HSP Subunit Vaccine candidate was jointly developed by the premier institutions ILS and IIT Bhubaneswar, while NRDC identified and evaluated the technology and facilitated the licensing process to ensure its advancement, an official said.
TechInvention Lifecare Limited, the licensed industry partner, will play a key role in translating this indigenous vaccine technology into a viable public health solution, he said.
Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, claiming 1.23 million lives in 2024 alone, as per the WHO report.
Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is a key global health priority under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the IIT said in a statement Monday.
However, the world continues to rely on the Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccine, developed over a century ago, which provides only limited protection mainly to infants and is largely ineffective in preventing pulmonary TB in adolescents and adults, it said.
To address this critical unmet need, a next-generation HSP Subunit Vaccine has been developed through collaborative research led by Ashis Biswas of IIT Bhubaneswar and Sunil Kumar Raghav of ILS, Bhubaneswar.
The IIT claimed that the vaccine candidate is designed to trigger strong humoral and cell-mediated immune responses while enhancing the protective efficacy of the existing BCG vaccine.
This partnership ensures that the jointly developed vaccine candidate advances efficiently from research to product development, validation, and eventual commercialisation, as per the statement.
It strengthens India’s mission to eliminate tuberculosis and underscores the transformative potential of indigenous, research-driven healthcare innovations for national and global health, the institute said.