Department/Ministry

Initiatives

Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology

1. BRIC-Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram is exploring the potency of the innate immune response to limit rabies virus and alongside exploring strategies to target rabies virus both from a vaccine angle and also from a therapeutic point.

2. BRIC-RGCB is also working on advanced multi-antigenic DNA and circular RNA (circRNA)-based vaccines for dengue and Zika viruses.

3. BRIC- Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (BRIC-THSTI) and BRIC- RGCB are jointly working on Monoclonal Antibodies Against Nipah Virus and have filed provisional patent in India (Application No.: 202411037094 filed on May 10, 2024) and Bangladesh (Application No. 167/2025 12 May, 2025).

4. The BRIC-National Institute of Immunology (BRIC-NII), is advancing the development of two next-generation, fully indigenous vaccine candidates for Japanese encephalitis and dengue.

5. The BRIC-National Institute of Immunology (BRIC-NII) is also working with EU research groups in a collaboration to develop two next-generation influenza vaccines: (i). Computationally optimised broadly reactive antigen (COBRA) vaccine, and (ii). Antigen-presenting cell targeting DNA (APC-mix) vaccine. These universal next-generation vaccines will be able to provide protection to humans from any emerging strains of the influenza virus, including strains emerging from pigs or birds.

6. BRIC-National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (BRIC-NIAB) is carrying out research towards the identification of potential vaccine candidates against animal-borne diseases such as brucellosis,leptospirosis, tuberculosis, paratuberculosis, toxoplasmosis, and rabies, primarily for use in animals.

7. BRIC-National Centre for Cell Science (BRIC-NCCS) along with IISER Bhopal has been working on Nipah vaccine candidate and testing its efficacy in murine models. Additionally they have also generated chimeric antibodies against Nipah proteins for diagnostic application

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Ministry of Science and Technology

The CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) is working on highly pathogenic avian influenza. While these viruses cause high mortality in poultry and pose a zoonotic risk to humans, there have been no human outbreaks or spikes in cases reported over the past year.To strengthen public health preparedness, the institute has established standardized environmental surveillance protocols for detecting the virus in wastewater, lakes, poultry farm perimeters, and migratory bird habitats. These sustainable monitoring frameworks are designed to provide early warnings to government authorities, enabling proactive measures to prevent large-scale outbreaks.