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ICMR invites EoIs for tech transfer to commercialise malaria vaccine

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has invited expressions of interest (EoI) from eligible companies and manufacturers to undertake the transfer of technology for commercialisation of an indigenous recombinant multi-stage malaria vaccine candidate named AdFalciVax. The vaccine candidate, being developed by ICMR's Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar (ICMR-RMRCBB), aims to prevent plasmodium falciparum, a parasite which causes severe and fatal malaria, in humans and minimise its community transmission. According to the EoI, ICMR-RMRCBB will also provide expert guidance and technical support for the production of the vaccine in all phases, effectively accelerating its development and commercialisation. The agreement is proposed to be executed on a non-exclusive basis with single or multiple companies to enable wider outreach of the malaria vaccine for societal benefit and public health use. It added that the development may take at least seven years in four stages with each stage having a six-month buffer time. While ICMR would provide technical support through its team of experienced scientists in study planning and product development, the selected company would be responsible for obtaining all the regulatory approvals, starting from research and development (R&D) for product development to its commercialisation. The Council will also have no financial implications unless otherwise specified, however, its institutes would provide support and facilitation to conduct the R&D and clinical studies of new technology in India. The EoI adds that in case of transfer of technology, ICMR is the sole owner of the said technology, including any underlying Intellectual Properties and commercialisation rights. 'In case of collaboration between ICMR and the company for the joint development of the technology/product, the Background Intellectual Property (BGIP) shall always remain the sole and non-exclusive property of the party generating it,' the EoI said. As part of the agreement, the collaborating company will be required to share technical data with ICMR and participate in all discussions in a professional and mutually agreed-upon manner. 'Subsequent to the execution of the agreement, such companies/manufacturers shall be responsible to pay the royalty at the rate of 2 per cent on net sales, according to the ICMR Guidelines for Technology Development Collaboration,' the medical research body said. According to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) World Malaria Report 2024, India contributes half of all estimated cases in the South East Asia Region, which in turn accounts for 1.5 per cent of the global malaria burden. India currently has access to two WHO-recommended malaria vaccines, Mosquirix and R21/Matrix-M. While the former is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the latter is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). Both vaccines are primarily for children in areas with moderate to high malaria transmission. 'Based on preclinical data, AdFalciVax may offer advantages such as broader protection and a lower risk of immune evasion compared to existing single-stage malaria vaccines,' an official in the know said. The pre-clinical validation of the vaccine candidate was conducted in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Malaria Research, other constituent institutes of ICMR, and the National Institute of Immunology in Delhi, an autonomous research institute of the Department of Biotechnology.