Aiming to understand the epidemiology of Pre-term Birth (PTB), its genetic and environmental interactions, and changes in vaginal microbial landscape, the department of biotechnology (DBT) has  embarked on a Pre-term Birth Programme, which is the first inter-institutional programme on maternal-infant health and spontaneous pre-term birth sciences in India.

The programme is funded by the department under the Grand Challenge Programme. The total cost of the project is Rs.48.85 crore for a period of five years.

The programme envisages a multidisciplinary research effort to predict & diagnose Pre-term Birth (PTB) by enhancing the knowledge of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. It is expected that the clinically relevant research outputs from the study will aid characterization of biological, clinical and epidemiological risk factors to achieve appropriate risk stratification of mothers who may deliver before term. These in turn would provide a basis for discovery of novel therapeutic agents and determine appropriate timing for their clinical application. Together, it would strengthen the commitment of the DBT to health equity, contributing significantly to reduction in infant and maternal mortality.

The DBT's initiative in this regard is significant as globally PTB is the single largest cause of neonatal deaths. In India’s 27 million birth cohort annually, born annually, 3.6 million are born pre-term, and over 300,000 of them die each year. India, contributes the highest number of PT birth and deaths worldwide, specifically 25 per cent of the overall global pre-term related deaths. Despite substantial efforts to introduce new therapies for prevention, the problem persists and contributes significantly to neonatal and infant mortality and morbidity. Pre-term birth has substantial long-term consequences for those affected, well in to late childhood and adult life.

The program highlights include development and evaluation of putative biomarkers, identification of simple microbiological tool based vaginal risk factors, modulation of vaginal microbiota for therapeutic purposes and evaluation of environmental modification chosen from SNP analysis. Some of the major public health concerns addressed by the programme are biological risks and processes of fetal growth and PTB, clinical consequences of PTB and intra uterine growth retardation.