NEW DELHI: A potential new treatment for cervical pre-cancer and two next-generation vaccines against typhoid and other gut infections have moved a step closer to becoming available in India after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) licensed the technologies to Indian pharmaceutical companies. If successful, the indigenous products could improve access to affordable treatment and vaccines while reducing dependence on imported technologies.The technologies have been transferred under ICMR’s Medical Innovations Patent Mitra initiative, which helps convert government-funded research into products that can be developed, tested and eventually brought to the market.Among them is SHetA2, a potential treatment for Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN), a precancerous condition caused by persistent infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). If left untreated, CIN can progress to cervical cancer, one of the leading cancers among Indian women.Unlike surgery, which is commonly used to remove abnormal cells, SHetA2 is designed to selectively destroy HPV-infected abnormal cells while sparing healthy cells. Scientists believe it could offer women a safer and less invasive treatment option in the future. The technology has been licensed to Emcure Pharmaceuticals for further development, clinical testing and commercialisation.ICMR has also licensed two vaccine technologies developed by its National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections (NIRBI), Kolkata, to Biological E. One is a next-generation vaccine against typhoid, while the other is designed to protect against typhoid, paratyphoid and Shigella, bacteria that cause severe diarrhoea and other intestinal infections, particularly among children.The vaccine candidates will now undergo further development and evaluation before they can be considered for regulatory approval and public use.Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research, and Director General, ICMR, said partnerships between researchers and industry are helping move promising discoveries from laboratories to patients while strengthening India’s biomedical innovation ecosystem.The technology transfer is part of ICMR’s broader effort to support indigenous healthcare innovation through patent protection, technology licensing, clinical validation and regulatory facilitation, with the aim of making affordable medicines and vaccines available to patients.
