At least 8 Indian companies working to develop monkeypox vaccine: Report

Among the companies that are working with ICMR are Serum Institute of India (SII), Reliance Life Sciences, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, and Biological E

After the vaccine for Covid-19, India may soon give the world a vaccine to fight monkeypox. At least eight companies in the country are working on developing a vaccine for monkeypox, a report by The Economic Times (ET) stated.

The companies are working with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). ICMR had invited expressions of interest (EoIs) from vaccine and diagnostic kit manufacturing companies. The last date for submitting the EoIs was August 10.

Thirty-one companies had applied, 8 out of them for the vaccine and 28 for developing diagnostic kits, the ET report said.

Among the companies working with ICMR are Serum Institute of India (SII), Reliance Life Sciences, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, and Biological E.

The report added that two government-owned companies, Haffkine Institute and Indian Immunologicals Ltd, are also working on the vaccine.

"The firm(s)/organisation(s) would be granted rights to undertake further R&D, manufacture, sell and commercialise the end product(s), vaccine candidate/IVD against the monkeypox disease under the defined agreement," ICMR said.

Several companies like Genes2Me, Mylab, and NeoDx have expressed interest in manufacturing kits for detecting monkeypox.

"Though we think it will not affect a larger segment of population like Covid, we would like to be prepared if people in the country need quality solutions for detection and treatment," Hasmukh Rawal, managing director, Mylab was quoted as saying by ET.

ICMR had earlier stated that it has gained possession of the isolates of the monkeypox virus and is willing to collaborate with pharma companies to develop vaccines and detection kits.

In July, the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, isolated the virus. It later provided the isolates to the ICMR.