Firm to manufacture ICGEB malaria vaccine

new delhi: a candidate vaccine developed by the international centre for genetic engineering and biotechnology (icgeb) here has got a major boost following a tie-up with a hyderabad-based company to manufacture the vaccine. "with the support of malaria vaccine initiative (mvi) and bharat biotech international limited, our goal of an effective vaccine for india and the world suddenly seems to be possible," dr v s chauhan, director icgeb, said on thursday."the agreement between icgeb, bharat and mvi brings international recognition to the malaria vaccine development efforts at icgeb and will provide a major thrust to our work," dr chetan chitnis, scientist at icgeb and principal investigator for the mvi-icgeb-bharat project. icgeb has got for its malaria research more than $1 million from mvi, through the programme for appropriate technology in health (path), a us-based non-profit organisation, backed by the bill and melinda gates foundation. under the agreement icgeb would fine-tune the vaccine against infection from plasmodium vivax, the most widespread form of malaria in india, and transfer its technology to bharat biotech, which would then manufacture the vaccine for human clinical trials. human trials should begin before 2004, dr chauhan, who is also leading the malaria research at the centre said.