Bhubaneswar: India’s quest for an indigenous tuberculosis (TB) vaccine has moved closer to clinical testing, with Mumbai-based biotech firm TechInvention Lifecare Ltd initiating preclinical animal studies for KochVac, a vaccine candidate developed by IIT Bhubaneswar and Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), Bhubaneswar. The company is targeting human trials in the second half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.At a national expert deliberation on “Advancing Bharat’s Indigenous TB Vaccine” in New Delhi on Sept 25, researchers, clinicians and industry representatives reviewed the progress of KochVac and discussed its development roadmap. “TechInvention said it plans to begin the regulatory process and aims to launch human trials during the latter half of 2027,” IIT Bhubaneswar said in a press statement.TechInvention director and CEO Syed S Ahmed said the three institutions have come together to advance the vaccine programme. He said KochVac has been named after German microbiologist Robert Koch, who discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis.“At the recent meeting, we received several suggestions from experts to generate more data. We will conduct further studies and generate the required data before moving to trials. Regulatory authorities have a major role to play. After receiving approval, we can proceed with human trials,” Ahmed said.He said TechInvention will work with ILS and IIT Bhubaneswar to optimise the vaccine candidate before engaging with regulators. “We will first conduct animal trials and then proceed to human trials in three phases,” he added.The vaccine programme gained momentum after IIT Bhubaneswar and ILS transferred the technology to TechInvention through a quadripartite licensing agreement signed in Nov 2025, facilitated by National Research Development Corporation (NRDC).Experts at the meeting discussed key aspects of vaccine development, including antigen design, epitope selection, adjuvant strategy, animal models, formulation and suitability for large-scale public health programmes. Their recommendations are expected to guide the next phase of translational development.The vaccine candidate has been jointly developed by Ashis Biswas of IIT Bhubaneswar and Sunil Kumar Raghav of ILS. It is designed to generate strong humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and enhance the protection offered by the century-old Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine.Raghav said the need for an effective TB vaccine remains urgent. According to World Health Organization, TB claimed 1.23 million lives globally in 2024. While BCG remains the only licensed TB vaccine, it offers limited protection against pulmonary TB in adolescents and adults, underscoring the need for next-generation vaccines.
