Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad   

Malaria vaccine being developed

Special Correspondent

14th S.S. Bhatnagar memorial lecture delivered

LOOKING AHEAD: V.S. Chauhan, Director of International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Bio-Chemistry, at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad on Saturday. At left is IICT Director J.S. Yadav. - Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

HYDERABAD: A recombinant, protein-based malaria vaccine is being developed by the Delhi-based International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in collaboration with the Bharat Biotech Ltd.

Virender Singh Chauhan, ICGEB director, told reporters after delivering the 14th S.S.Bhatnagar Memorial Lecture on " Trends in malaria vaccine, drug and peptidomemetics research" at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) here on Saturday.

Describing it as an "experimental vaccine", he said that high hopes were being pinned on it. In about one-and-half years, the first phase clinical trials would begin after its toxicity was tested in animals.

The malaria research group at ICGEB, headed by him, was one of the few teams working worldwide on development of vaccines for the disease which is causing more than one million deaths each year.

High prevalence

He said malaria was back with a vengeance and the prevalence was high in Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Assam. Half the cases were caused by P. falciparum and the rest by P. vivax.

However, the number of deaths in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh was much less than those in Africa. The ICGEB had begun work to understand the "biology" of bird flu and find out why it was pathogenic.

It had also developed a kit for early detection of dengue fever and transferred the technology to two companies.

IICT Director J.S. Yadav said the institute had received grants for setting up two national facilities -- one for detecting heavy metals in herbal products and another for drug discovery.

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