In line with the Indian government’s commitment to eliminate tuberculosis by 2025, Adar Poonawalla’s Serum Institute of India has applied for emergency use authorisation for its recombinant BCG vaccine, which will be able to help adult TB patients. The government wants to end TB by 2025, which is five years ahead of its sustainable development goal of ending the disease.
Serum has applied for the emergency use authorisation with the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). Once it approves the vaccine, the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) will decide on its introduction, as mentioned in a report in the Economic Times.
The vaccine, TUBERVAC-rBCG can be administered to children and adults both.
According to the report, a government official said that the government was hopeful that the TB vaccine would receive a good response if approved for adults. There is already a BCG for children and adolescents, but none for adults. If approved, this vaccine would act as an added layer of protection for adults.
Meanwhile, the government constituted the India TB Research Consortium under the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) with the specific purpose of testing and validating novel drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for TB. The government is also fast-tracking and aiming for early introduction of potential TB vaccine candidates.
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