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Govt in pact for developing AIDS vaccine
Our Bureau
New Delhi
May 2
The Government has entered into an agreement with a leading global non-profit organisation, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), to work in the area of AIDS vaccines.
A new Indian Medicinal Chemistry Programme, co-sponsored by IAVI and the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, comprising Indian and US scientists, will work towards AIDS vaccine discovery and developing concepts for the next generation of AIDS vaccines.
Mr Kapil Sibal, Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, said that vaccine research was critical and his Ministry was working with the Health Ministry to support such programmes.
Expanding efforts
Mr Seth Berkley, CEO and President, IAVI, expressed hope that the partnership would help broaden ongoing efforts in India to find an AIDS vaccine. The Indian Programme is to complement the work of IAVI's Neutralizing Antibody Consortium (NAC) — a team of internationally recognised scientists working on the neutralising antibody challenge.
The programme will start by working on novel HIV antigens. Later, based on their initial research and vaccine design concepts, both partners expect to work with an Indian manufacturer for high throughput synthesis, antigen chemical characterisation and potency evaluation of proposed AIDS vaccine candidates.
IAVI is a global not-for-profit organisation, founded in 1996 and operational in 24 countries, financially supported by the Alfred P Sloan Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, several countries, the European Union, and The World Bank among others.
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