New TB vaccine for adolescents, adults ready for commercialisation

With existing vaccines largely ineffective in preventing pulmonary tuberculosis in adolescents and adults, a new vaccine, the HSP Subunit Vaccine in Adjuvant (DDA), against Mycobacterium tuberculosis will soon be commercially available.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar and the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), Bhubaneswar, under Department of Biotechnology, along with the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), have signed a quadripartite license agreement (QLA) with TechInvention Lifecare Limited for the technology transfer and future commercialisation of the novel TB vaccine.

According to ILS, tuberculosis remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, claiming 1.23 million lives in 2024 alone, as reported by the WHO.

“Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is a key global health priority under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the world continues to rely on the Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) vaccine, developed over a century ago, which provides only limited protection mainly to infants and is largely ineffective in preventing pulmonary TB in adolescents and adults,” it said.

To address this critical unmet need, a next-generation HSP Subunit Vaccine has been developed through collaborative research led by Prof Ashis Biswas of IIT, Bhubaneswar and Sunil Kumar Raghav of ILS, Bhubaneswar, the institute said.

“This vaccine candidate is 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 proactively identified and evaluated this technology and facilitated the licensing process to ensure its advancement,” said the national level institutes involved in development of the vaccine.

The technology exchange was held at ILS Bhubaneswar in the presence of several senior dignitaries including Debasis Dash, ILS Director, Shreepad Karmalkar, IIT Director, B. K. Sahu, Senior Regional Manager and Head (Outreach Offices) of NRDC and Syed S. Ahmed, Director and CEO of TechInvention Lifecare Limited.

“The HSP Subunit Vaccine candidate, jointly developed by the premier institutions ILS and IIT Bhubaneswar, represents a significant advancement in India’s efforts to combat Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This collaboration reflects the robustness of India’s research ecosystem and its commitment to addressing critical public health challenges,” a statement issued by institutes said.

It pointed out that TechInvention, the licensed industry partner, was committed to translating this indigenous vaccine technology into a viable public health solution.

The joint statement said this partnership ensures that the jointly developed vaccine candidate advances efficiently from research to product development, validation, and eventual commercialisation.