The National Institute of Virology, Pune, part of the Indian Council of Medical Research, has isolated the monkeypox virus strain for the first time in the nation.
Senior Health Ministry officials announced on Wednesday that the institution has issued an invitation for expressions of interest (EOI) and is proposing to transfer the strain to commercial partners for the creation of an indigenous vaccine and diagnostic tools for the illness.
The first stage in accelerating the nation’s medication, vaccine, and quick diagnostic kit development is the isolation of virus strains.
The monkeypox virus strain was successfully isolated and grown from samples of sick Indian patients by the ICMR-NIV Pune. According to the official, the West African strain that is circulating worldwide and the Indian strains’ genomes match in 99.85% of the cases.
The monkeypox virus has two distinct kinds (clades), one of which originated in Central Africa and the other in West Africa. The less dangerous West African clade is the origin of the current global pandemic (2022).
According to the EOI document from ICMR, the isolates of the monkeypox virus and its purification, propagation, and characterization methods and procedures are subject to all Intellectual Property Rights and Commercialization Rights. In order to conduct R&D and manufacture activities using characterized monkeypox virus isolates from ICMR for the development of a vaccine against monkeypox disease or a diagnostic kit for the diagnosis of monkeypox virus, hereinafter referred to as the “Product(s),” ICMR is legally permitted to enter into non-exclusive agreements with skilled Drug/Pharma/Vaccine/IVD manufacturers.
Further stated was the ICMR’s willingness to work with knowledgeable vaccine producers as well as in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) producers on a royalty basis under a fixed-term contract condition to conduct R&D and manufacturing activities for the joint development and validation of five potential vaccine candidates against monkeypox disease, the creation of an IVD diagnostic kit for the detection of the monkeypox virus, and the eventual development of a finished product.
Additionally, the company(s)/organization(s) would be given the authority to carry out additional R&D, produce, market, and commercialize the finished “vaccine candidate/IVD” against the monkeypox illness in accordance with the stated Agreement.
Due to the high demand for monkeypox virus isolates, which is being anticipated to develop vaccine candidates/IVD kits, the agreement after the EOI will be performed on a “Non-Exclusive” basis with single/multiple firms, according to the EOI.
According to the World Health Organization, monkeypox often resolves on its own after two to four weeks of symptoms. Severe cases can, however, occur. The case fatality rate has recently been between 3 and 6 percent. It can be passed from an infected person or animal to a human through intimate touch, as can the virus-contaminated objects or people. A viral zoonotic illness is monkeypox.
