In a big first for India in indigenous vaccine development, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and the Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL), Hyderabad, have jointly come up with a unique low-cost anti-rabies vaccine for the first time in India. It’s also the world’s first combination rabies vaccine, as it contains DNA vaccine in combination with a low dose of cell culture vaccine, for which an international patent has been applied for. It’s also likely to be cheaper than existing vaccines.

Professor PN Rangarajan, of the Biochemistry department at the IISc, who has been working on it for the past five years, said: ‘‘We first got a circular DNA molecule called plasmid which can be purified from bacteria cells. The plasmid has the gene for rabies surface virus glycoprotein. When this is injected into our body, the plasmid is taken up by our cells. The rabies glycoprotein is made inside our cells and then presented to our immune system which generates antibodies against this protein to neutralise the virus that enters the body after a rabid dog bite...’’

But the plasmid DNA vaccine was fond to be only 80 per cent effective compared to the cell culture vaccine.

‘‘When we added a tiny amount of the cell culture rabies vaccine, potency increased and the vaccine became 100 per cent effective. We call this combination rabies vaccine since it contains DNA vaccine and a small quantity of cell culture rabies vaccine. Plasmid DNA can be produced cheaply... The new vaccine is likely to be much cheaper than cell culture vaccine,’’ said Prof Rangarajan.

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