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The Hindu
4 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Miltenyi Biotec, BIRAC partner to boost cell and gene therapy capabilities
Miltenyi Biotec India and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) have signed a letter of intent for a collaboration aimed at enhancing India's capabilities in cell and gene therapy through capacity building, advancing clinical research and to solve unmet medical needs by local manufacturing of cell therapies. The LOI was signed at the BIO International Convention 2025, which opened this week in Boston, they said in a joint release on Wednesday. German cellular research, cell therapy and cell manufacturing solutions provider Miltenyi Biotec in February had announced plans for a cell and gene therapy centre of excellence in Hyderabad. The partnership with BIRAC is to build national capabilities and upskill scientific talent by implementing structured training and capacity-building programmes for clinicians, researchers and technicians in CGT manufacturing, analytics, and quality control. It is also to expand translational research efforts through co-development of academic and multi-centre studies and set up point-of-care (PoC) CAR-T centres across India using automated manufacturing platforms to enable cost-effective and scalable access to personalised CGT treatments. Their partnership with also promote targeted cell therapy research and support local innovation through the identification and mentoring of Indian startups thus aligning with the Make in India mission by enhancing domestic production of critical and manufacturing components and by supporting development of national CGT COEs. 'Together, we are exploring how to address current unmet needs in medical science, particularly in areas like autoimmune and rare diseases by enhancing access through innovative mechanisms such as point-of-care CAR-T and graft engineering,' MiltenyiBiotec India MD Priya Kapoor-Hingorani said.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
BIRAC in pact with Miltenyi Biotec India to boost India's capabilities in cell & gene therapy
HYDERABAD: In a move aimed at beefing up India's leadership in cutting-edge biotherapeutics such as cell and gene therapy (CGT), the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) has signed a strategic letter of intent (LOI) with Miltenyi Biotec India Private Limited to boost India's capabilities in CGT through capacity building, advancing clinical research and solving unmet medical needs by local manufacturing of cell therapies. The LOI was signed at the BIO International Convention 2025 that kicked off in Boston this week. Through the partnership, Miltenyi Biotec and BIRAC plan to build national capabilities and upskill scientific talent through structured training and capacity-building programmes for clinicians, researchers, and technicians in CGT manufacturing, analytics, and quality control. The collaboration also aims to expand translational research efforts through co-development of academic and multi-center studies, focusing on next-generation therapies to solve India's unmet medical needs in malignancies, autoimmune diseases and rare diseases. It will also establish point-of-care (PoC) CAR-T centers across India using automated manufacturing platforms such as Miltenyi's CliniMACS Prodigy system to enable cost-effective and scalable access to personalised CGT treatments. The initiative will also promote targeted cell therapy research and support local innovation through the identification and mentoring of Indian startups in line with the 'Make in India' mission by enhancing domestic production of critical and manufacturing components, and supporting the development of national CGT centers of excellence. Commenting on the partnership. Priya Kapoor-Hingorani, managing director, MiltenyiBiotec India, said, 'The potential of India draws us. Our partnership with BIRAC focuses on updating and upskilling scientists to strengthen the country's scientific capabilities and infrastructure. Together, we're exploring how to address current unmet needs in medical science, particularly in areas like autoimmune and rare diseases by enhancing access through innovative mechanisms such as point-of-care CAR-T and graft engineering. ' BIRAC managing director Dr Jitendra Kumar said the LOI was inked with Miltenyi, an MNC that is known for its expertise in CGT, as India is aspiring to become a global leader in this space and to achieve that goal it requires a strong foundation of skilled manpower.
India Today
24-04-2025
- Health
- India Today
Affordable, made-in-India HPV test kits rolled out to fight cervical cancer
Two made-in-India HPV test kits - an essential diagnostic tool for cervical cancer - have been rolled out after successful evaluation by AIIMS Delhi results of the scientific review were announced in a meeting by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).The two evaluated HPV kits - Truenat HPV-HR Plus by Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics, and Patho Detect by Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions developed under the Department of Biotechnology, now launched into the market, mark a step forward in combating cervical cancer, the second most common type of cancer among Indian HOW THE INDIGENOUS HPV KITS WORKThe newly validated kits use a chip-based real-time PCR (RT-PCR) technique, which is known for its accuracy and kits are designed to detect eight high-risk HPV genotypes, which are responsible for over 96% of cervical cancer cases evaluation of these kits was carried out by a team of experts at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi, in collaboration with National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR) Noida, and National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health (NIRRCH) Mumbai, along with support from the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). "The key feature of these kits is the inclusion of only the seven-eight most common cancer-causing types that will allow a very efficient and cost-effective screening programme which will be most suitable for India," Dr. Neerja Bhatla, former head of the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at AIIMS, Delhi and chief coordinator of the programme, told sets these tests apart is their ability to be used as point-of-care tools, meaning they can deliver results quickly and can be used even in resource-limited or rural healthcare settings. This is particularly important in India, where access to diagnostic labs can be a major barrier."Given the enhancement of RTPCR-based diagnostic facilities across the nation in the post-COVID era, the introduction of sensitive RTPCR-based HPV testing kits might prove to be cost effective screening method over classical HPV DNA and Pap smear for deployment in the national cancer screening programme," Dr Bhatla said.A PUBLIC HEALTH THREATHPV (human papillomavirus) is a common viral infection that spreads through skin-to-skin contact, quite often via sexual contact. The virus is so common that nearly all sexually active individuals will contract it at some point in their lives, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). While most HPV are harmless, some virus variants pose severe health problems leading to various forms of cancer, including cervical cancer is a serious public health issue in India, which accounts for nearly one in every four cervical cancer cases globally. Each year, over 1.23 lakh women are newly diagnosed, and nearly 77,000 women lose their lives to the disease. Cervical cancer is a serious public health issue in India, which accounts for nearly one in every four cervical cancercases globally. () What makes this disease more concerning is that cervical cancer is preventable. While not all cervical cancer cases are because of HPV infection, most cases are caused by the virus. Therefore, early and regular screening for HPV can help catch the disease before it becomes WHO recently recommended that all countries adopt HPV testing as the primary screening method. According to the health agency's global strategy, women should undergo two HPV tests in their lifetime, once at the age of 35 and again at target is to screen 70% of eligible women by 2030, which would drastically reduce cervical cancer deaths.'A STEP FORWARD IN PREVENTIVE CARE'Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh underlined the growing importance of preventive healthcare and India's efforts to become a global leader in this the event where the two made-in-India HPV testing kits designed for quick screening of cervical cancer were launched, Jitendra Singh said it was the right time to acknowledge India's growing success in scientific innovation, especially in the healthcare cited the development of the world's first DNA vaccine for Covid-19, which was also made in India back in 2021, as a major achievement that brought international recognition and helped shift global perceptions. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh underlined the growing importance of preventive healthcare at the launch of two made-in-India HPV testing kits. (Photo: Department of Biotechnology) "India was once seen as a country that neither focused on preventive nor curative healthcare. That perception is changing," he said, also mentioning Nafithromycin, the country's first indigenous antibiotic, and a gene therapy trial for haemophilia, the results of which were published in the New England Journal of credited these milestones to the combined efforts of public institutions and private companies, describing it as a "whole-of-science and whole-of-government" current methods of screening for cervical cancer include Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA), Papanicolaou test (Pap test or Pap smear) and HPV DNA testing. These tests are costly and time-consuming, and not always sensitive enough, said new HPV test kits are faster, more affordable, and suitable for use in remote Reel
