Union Minister Mr. Jitendra Singh says, India will make significant investment in R&D to develop a roadmap for design and delivery of vaccine development for future pandemic

During the International meet on “Preparedness for Future Epidemics”, Mr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of Science & Technology remarked that COVID-19 has acted as a clarion call to get ready for potential threats, announcing the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), as in charge of India's IndCEPI programme for future readiness. He also claimed that the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) was effectively assisted by 14 autonomous institutes supporting the vaccine industry in developing India's first DNA and protein subunit vaccine Corbevax. Moreover, in order to expand the biotech sector beyond its current US$ 80 billion contribution, they intend to create a framework for pandemic preparedness, enhancing manufacturing capacity for large-scale production.

Mr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT) claimed that vaccine preparation can be a difficult process and there is a need for a unified system so India can promptly develop vaccines, diagnose problems, and treat patients for diseases including dengue, chikungunya, TB, and other viral and bacterial infections. Professor Mr. Pramod Garg, Executive Director, THSTI highlighted the various undergoing projects and also mentioned about the recent funding of US$ 12 million from CEPI. Also, Ms. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, World Health Organization (WHO) quoted the need to build better infrastructure and that they have formed a committee to pick prototypes and prioritize viral families for vaccine development.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.