a. whether the Government is not committing to the required fund balance for dengue vaccine trials despite the fact that there is a national crisis with dengue cases at their peaks;
b. if so, the details thereof; and the reason therefor;
c. whether the Government proposes to take any measures to provide necessary funding for the project given the gravity of the situation;
d. if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
e. the time by which it is likely to be done?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR SCINECE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES
(Y.S. Chowdary)
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(???. ??. ?????)
(a to e) The Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology has been supporting the research on Dengue Vaccine Development in a major way under the aegis of Indo-US Vaccine Action Programme (VAP) and the Vaccine Grand Challenge Programme (VGCP). Efforts have been supported for the development of safe, efficacious and inexpensive tetravalent dengue vaccine and continued support will be provided based on review of the progress and the milestones achieved.
A major project on “Development of envelope domain III-based dengue virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidates” has been implemented at International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi at a total cost Rs. 429.41 lakhs in March, 2010. Under this two promising candidates were developed that elicited protective immune response in mice i.e. (i) EDIII-T-HBsAg fusion antigen co-expressed with 4-copies of HBsAg, ET-H (1:4) abbreviated as Dengue Subunit Vaccine Tetravalent (DSV4); and (ii) DENV-2 Envelope VLPs. Further development of the vaccine may warrant study in primate models.
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