IIL-Hyd joins in as Indian scientists race to develop Covid-19 vaccine

NEW DELHI: Indian scientists are scrambling to develop a vaccine against Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), with the Hyderabadbased Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), a subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), joining the frantic global race.

IIL has partnered with Australia’s Griffith University to develop the vaccine through an “approach” that looks promising, according to the organisation. “This is a significant cross-continental collaboration,” the chairman of the NDDB and IIL Dilip Rath said.

Scientists from IIL and Griffith University will jointly develop a “live attenuated Sars- CoV-2 vaccine” using the “latest codon de-optimization technology”

A live-attenuated vaccine is one where the target virus is considerably weakened but still alive, just enough to trigger immunity but cause no harm. “Codon de-optimisation technology” is a popular method of developing vaccines that allows manipulation of the constituents of a virus’s genetic code called “codons”, according to the US Centers of Disease Control.

IIL is a major entity in the human vaccine market in India, supplying human paediatric and rabies vaccines.

In India, vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech is working on developing an intra-nasal drop vaccine against the virus in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and vaccine firm FluGen. The Pune-based Serum Institute is also working on a c vaccine.

In an email response, Professor Suresh Mahalingam of Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, said: “As this vaccine will be a live attenuated vaccine, it is expected to be highly effective by providing very strong cellular and antibody immune responses ...”.