India's Indigenous Cervical Pre-Cancer Treatment and Vaccines Licensed to Pharma Companies
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has licensed a potential treatment for cervical pre-cancer and two next-generation vaccines to Indian pharmaceutical companies under its Medical Innovations Patent Mitra initiative. This move aims to bring affordable, homegrown medical products to the market, reducing India's dependence on imported technologies.
The treatment, known as SHetA2, targets Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN), a precancerous condition caused by persistent infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). If left untreated, CIN can progress to cervical cancer, which is one of the leading cancers among women in India. Unlike surgical removal of abnormal cells, SHetA2 is designed to selectively destroy HPV-infected cells while preserving healthy tissue, offering a potentially safer and less invasive treatment option. The technology has been licensed to Emcure Pharmaceuticals, which will further develop, test, and commercialize it.
In addition, ICMR has licensed two vaccine technologies developed by its National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections (NIRBI) in Kolkata to Biological E. One is a next-generation vaccine against typhoid, and the other targets typhoid, paratyphoid, and Shigella bacteria—causes of severe diarrhoea and other intestinal infections, particularly in children. These vaccine candidates will undergo further development and evaluation before seeking regulatory approval for public use.
Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary of the Department of Health Research and Director General of ICMR, stated that partnerships between researchers and industry are essential to translate laboratory discoveries into patient benefits and to strengthen India's biomedical innovation ecosystem. The technology transfer is part of ICMR's broader effort to support indigenous healthcare innovation through patent protection, technology licensing, clinical validation, and regulatory facilitation, with the aim of making affordable medicines and vaccines available to patients.
This initiative underscores ICMR's commitment to converting government-funded research into tangible products that can improve public health outcomes. The licensed technologies represent a significant step toward self-reliance in healthcare, particularly in addressing diseases that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.
