ICMR transfers three biomedical technologies to advance cancer, infectious disease solutions

New Delhi: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has licensed three indigenous biomedical technologies to leading domestic pharmaceutical and vaccine makers for development, manufacturing and commercialisation, an official statement said on Tuesday.

These technology transfers mark another significant step towards accelerating the translation of publicly funded research into affordable healthcare solutions and strengthening India’s biomedical innovation ecosystem, the statement from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

The technologies include SHetA2, a novel anti-HPV therapeutic candidate for the treatment of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN), licensed to Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

The two next-generation vaccine technologies against enteric bacterial infections, developed at ICMR–National Institute of Research in Bacterial Infections (ICMR-NIRBI), Kolkata, were also licensed to Biological E Ltd.

SHetA2 was developed through a collaboration between Dr. Showket Hussain, ICMR National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (ICMR-NICPR) and Dr. Doris M. Benbrook, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma, USA.

It is a first-in-class targeted therapeutic candidate that selectively eliminates HPV-induced precancerous and cervical cancer cells while sparing healthy cells.

The technology has the potential to provide a safe, affordable and minimally invasive treatment option for cervical cancer, the statement added.

Vaccine technologies developed by the team include a fusion construct containing Salmonella typhi outer membrane protein as a promising next-generation typhoid vaccine candidate.

It also includes a recombinant vaccine composition against Salmonella typhi or paratyphi and Shigella infections, designed to provide broader protection against major enteric bacterial pathogens.

Together, these technologies have the potential to strengthen India’s efforts in cancer prevention and infectious disease control while advancing indigenous development of next-generation therapeutics and vaccines.

ICMR has established an integrated innovation ecosystem that supports healthcare technologies across the innovation continuum—from discovery and intellectual property protection to clinical validation, regulatory facilitation and commercialisation, the statement said.

IANS