The Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi has developed an expression system for producing large amount of protective antigen protein of anthrax toxin. The technology developed for anthrax vaccine has been transferred for commercial exploitation in collaboration with the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

According to an official press release, the immunization of animals with this protective antigen alone could save them from the lethal challenge posed by the spores of pathogen.

The IGIB, dedicated to frontier areas of genomics, aims to become a knowledge resource for the Indian Biotechnology industry as far as functional genomics are concerned, the release said.

The institute is in the process of developing effective, competitive and commercial technologies for new drug discovery. It is also working on the development of molecular markers for pathogenic organisms including mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The IGIB hit the headlines recently when a group of scientists at the Institute developed a globally competitive software programme, which facilitated decoding of the genome sequence of the SARS virus.