On Tuesday, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Guwahati announced the transfer of first-of-its-kind technology for the commercial rollout of India's first recombinant vaccine for swine fever virus in pigs and wild boars.
Swine fever is a highly contagious disease among pigs and bears a severe risk with a very high mortality rate. However, it does not affect humans.
In India, the disease, swine fever, has been generally observed, especially in the northeastern states and, among others, in Bihar, Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat.
In a statement, the institute said that pioneering vaccine technology has been successfully transferred to BioMed, which is a manufacturing company specializing in high-quality vaccines.
The statement from IIT Guwahati said that this technology necessitates a recombinant vector vaccine designed specifically for battling against the classical swine fever virus in pigs and wild boars. This vaccine is filling a significant gap in India's vaccine landscape. This first recombinant virus-based vaccine for pigs harnesses a reverse genetic platform pioneered and refined at IIT Guwahati.
Reverse genetics is an efficacious method broadly utilized to develop vaccines against influenza. It can also be used to make vaccines for various animal diseases.
A team of researchers from the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at IIT Guwahati and Assam Agricultural University in Guwahati coordinated the work in 2018–2019 on the vaccine. Their research findings have been published in two journals: Process Biochemistry and Archives of Virology. Currently, the vaccine is in the process of being filed for a test and analysis license.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Komal Bhoi/MSM)