The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT Guwahati) has achieved a significant milestone by successfully transferring pioneering vaccine technology to BioMed Pvt. Ltd., a prominent manufacturer specializing in high-quality vaccines.

This innovative technology involves a recombinant vector vaccine designed specifically to combat the classical swine fever virus in pigs and wild boars, addressing a crucial gap in India's vaccine landscape.

The vaccine, which represents the first recombinant virus-based vaccine for pigs, utilizes a reverse genetic platform developed and refined at IIT Guwahati. Classical swine fever is a highly contagious disease with a significant mortality rate among pigs, although it does not affect humans. In India, instances of this disease have been frequently observed in northeastern states, as well as in Bihar, Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat, among others.

The vaccine development initiative commenced in 2018-2019 through collaborative efforts between researchers from the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at IIT Guwahati and Assam Agricultural University in Guwahati. Their research findings have been published in prestigious journals such as Process Biochemistry and Archives of Virology.

This pioneering vaccine, being created and produced for the first time in India, addresses a significant threat to the country's pig industry, for which there is currently no available vaccine. The successful transfer of vaccine technology to a leading player in the veterinary vaccine sector marks a remarkable achievement.

Reverse genetics serves as a potent method and tool for developing vaccines targeting both animal and human diseases. This technology has been widely utilized in the development of vaccines against various diseases, including influenza.