The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will soon collaborate with private companies for further development and commercialisation of a large number of indigenous healthcare technologies developed by ICMR through a special programme aimed at development of affordable technologies for healthcare.

According to senior officials in the ICMR, the collaborating private parties including their partnering group should have the capacity for absorption of the technology to be assessed by infrastructure, human resource and clear defined plan for further development and commercialization of healthcare technologies indigenously developed by ICMR institutes.  

The ICMR through its special programme aimed at development of indigenous affordable technologies for healthcare had developed technologies which include diagnostic assays/reagents/devices for diabetes mellitus, cervical cancer and thalassemia; vaccines for hepatitis E; infectious diseases for tuberculosis, leptospirosis, hepatitis E, rotavirus diarrhoea, food borne pathogens, chlamydia infections, Kalazar, Malaria, Filaria and Lung Fluke infection; etc.

For instance, the NIV, Pune (an ICMR institute) had developed recombinant vaccine for Hepatitis E vaccine and combination of Hepatitis E & Hepatitis B vaccines using a novel approach. Some of the salient features of the technology include the liposome formulation of T1NE protein of an Indian strain of genotype 1 HEV serves as an effective candidate vaccine for hepatitis E; the liposome formulation of T1NE protein of an Indian strain of genotype 1 HEV along with the S protein of HBV serves as an effective combined candidate vaccine for hepatitis E and hepatitis B; etc.  Research is upto laboratory scale; successful clinical trial in rhesus monkeys has been completed.

Likewise,  another ICMR institute NIOP, New Delhi has developed dot ELISA for diagnosis of sequelae to chlamydia trachomatis infection in women using chlamydial Heat Shock Protein-60.  This assay is cost-effective and is a serological test which would help in the diagnosis of women at higher risk of developing sequelae to C. trachomatis.  This has a clinical relevance as it will help the gynaecologist for timely therapy, thus improving the reproductive health of women.

The NIV, Pune has developed ELISA Test for Rotavirus which is used for detection of rotavirus from the fecal samples of diarrhoea patients. It is easy to perform, has high sensitivity and specificity and is cost effective as large number of fecal samples could be tested using indigenously developed reagents.  This can essentially avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics in diarrhoea patients.

There are a large number of such technologies indigenously developed ICMR institutes.  The ICMR has invited expression of interest from interested companies/manufacturers/ entrepreneurs for  further developing these technologies.