ICMR Gives Licenses To Commercially Produce Indigenous Malaria Vaccine

(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, Sep 10 (KNN) The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has taken a major step forward in combating malaria by initiating the commercial rollout of its first indigenous multi-stage recombinant malaria vaccine, AdFalciVax.

Developed by ICMR's Regional Medical Research Centre in Bhubaneswar, with pre-clinical validation support from ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR) and the National Institute of Immunology, Delhi, this groundbreaking vaccine targets Plasmodium falciparum. It aims not only to prevent infection but also to curb parasite transmission within communities.

In July, ICMR invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) from qualified manufacturers to facilitate Transfer of Technology (ToT) for further development, production, and marketing of AdFalciVax. Once evaluated, five companies-Indian Immunologicals Limited, Techinvention Lifecare Private Limited, Panacea Biotec Limited, Biological E Limited, and Zydus Lifesciences-were granted non-exclusive licenses to carry forward this endeavour.

AdFalciVax employs a dual-antigen design: it uses PfCSP to block the parasite before it enters the bloodstream and Pfs230–Pfs48/45 fusion proteins to prevent onward transmission to mosquitoes.

Its innovative platform, based on Lactococcus lactis, offers scalable, affordable manufacturing and remains stable and effective for over nine months at room temperature-a critical feature for regions with limited cold-chain infrastructure.

This public–private collaboration is poised to catalyze India's vaccine production capabilities, aligning with the Make-in-India vision and reinforcing efforts toward malaria eradication by lowering both disease incidence and transmission risk across vulnerable populations.

(KNN Bureau)

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