BHUBANESWAR: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar and Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) along with National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) on Monday signed a quadripartite licence agreement (QLA) with TechInvention Lifecare Limited for the technology transfer and commercialisation of a novel TB vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, claiming 1.23 million lives in 2024 alone. The next-generation HSP subunit vaccine has been developed through a collaborative research led by Prof Ashis Biswas of IIT-BBS and Dr Sunil Kumar Raghav of ILS-BBS.
This vaccine candidate has been designed to trigger strong humoral and cell-mediated immune responses while enhancing the protective efficacy of the existing BCG vaccine.
In view of its significant public health potential, NRDC evaluated this technology and facilitated the licencing process to ensure its commercialisation.
Prof Biswas said this is a protein subunit vaccine developed as part of a joint collaboration. “The protein was first developed at the IIT lab and then underwent preclinical trials on mice models at ILS, which tested the efficacy levels. Until now BCG was the only vaccine against TB. The new vaccine if administered after BCG, will act as a booster dose with higher efficiency,” he said.
As per the agreement, TechInvention, the licensed industry partner, will help translate this indigenous vaccine technology into a viable public health solution. With strong expertise in vaccine development, regulatory readiness, and global health innovation, TechInvention is expected to complete phase-I and II clinical trials within next four to five years.
“This partnership ensures that the jointly developed vaccine candidate advances efficiently from research to product development, validation and eventual commercialisation. It strengthens India’s mission to eliminate tuberculosis and underscores the transformative potential of indigenous, research-driven healthcare innovations for national and global health,” said ILS director Debasis Dash.