Thanks to collaborative research by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and Hyderabad-based Indian Immunologicals, a unit of the NDDB, India is on the verge of a major breakthrough in vaccine technology for other infectious diseases as well with far reaching implications for the global pharma industry, scientists said.

In contrast to the protein-based conventional vaccines, including the recombinant varieties, which are expensive to manufacture and require a good cold-chain, a cheaper alternative is seen in DNA vaccines which use the human body as a factory to produce the antigens which fight the disease.Though still confined to the labs, the commercial implications of the development of such a vaccine are easy to understand. For instance over 30,000 people die of dog bite every year in Indiawhile nearly five lakh victims undergo prophylaxis treatment annually. In India, local production of the vaccine is far below demand which is mostly met through imports. The development of a DNA vaccine based on the genetic immunisation method, which is cheap and does not need an expensive cold chain, presents a viable alternative to the existing vaccines throughout the developing world promising to bring in the riches to the company which masters the technology first.

``We are also looking at various other options including a DNA vaccine for Hepatitis B, MMR and even the foot and mouth disease prevalent among bovines,'' Srinivasan told The Financial Express. ``Though we missed the recombinant bus, we are well positioned to get onto the genetic vaccination bus,'' said another senior official of the Indian Immunologicals.