IIT Guwahati transfers indigenously developed swine fever vaccine to industry

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Guwahati) in a technology transfer to industry had transferred a vaccine technology to BioMed Private Limited. The IIT Guwahati has developed the vaccine for combating the classical swine fever virus in pigs and wild boars. The vaccine technology entails a recombinant vector virus.

The institute claimed that it is the first recombinant virus-based vaccine for pigs. The vaccine harnesses a reverse genetic platform pioneered and refined at IIT Guwahati. Swine fever is a highly contagious disease among pigs, posing a severe threat of very high mortality rate. The swine fever virus doesn’t affect humans. In India, instances of this disease have been frequently observed in northeastern states, Bihar, Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat, among others.

The development of the vaccine started in 2018. It was developed by collaboration between researchers from the IIT Guwahati’s department of biosciences and bioengineering and Assam Agricultural University. Their research findings have been published in two papers, featured in Process Biochemistry and Archives of Virology journals.

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The IIT Guwahati and Assam Agricultural University research team utilised the Newcastle disease virus (NDV), traditionally studied for its pathogenicity in chickens, as a carrier for the essential proteins of the classical swine fever virus. This innovative method facilitates the development of immunity in the body and is characterised by its speed and cost-effectiveness.

At present, the vaccine is under the process of filing a test and analysis licence. “This advancement is crucial in curbing the spread of this incurable disease among pigs across breeding farms in India, particularly in the northeast, where cases have been rampant in recent years,” the IIT Guwahati said.