T funding to boost translational science, says to develop indigenous . Funding fortranslational research isboosted underjointinitiatives India’s quest for self-sufficiency COVID-19 asacatalyst acts in index Asia Pacific pathogenesis of an organism. You need to build because you gave 10 peoplegrants to study the institutions. Butanewvaccine won’t happen distributive: they give many grants to many Vellore. “Research agencies inIndialike to be nologists, from theChristian MedicalCollege, Gagandeep Kang, oneof India’s leadingvacci- too quickly. scratch, andaneagerness to declare success tem to create products high-quality from nesses, inthelackof aninnovation ecosys race to develop these has exposed weak ield, andarange of diagnostic tests. Butthe two licensed vaccines, Covaxin andCovish the pandemic. nostics, intending to create localsolutionsto develop COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and diag January 2021,January alongside Covishield, anIndian Organisation, India’s regulator, licensed it in When theCentral Drugs Standard Controls adjuvant licensed from a USfirm. private manufacturer Bharat Biotech, uses an of MedicalResearch andtheHyderabad-based jointly by the government-run Indian Council widely referred to as‘indigenous’, developed foreign institutions. Even Covaxin, the eight were developed incollaboration with or hadpassed, human trialsby February 2021, nine COVID-19 vaccine candidates that were in, reflected inIndia’s of thevaccine portfolio: experts onallthree fronts, says Kang. Thisis who test lacksenough them.Thecountry who designthevaccines, clinicalresearchers study theorganism, translational scientists and development cycle: basic scientists who vaccine requires skillsacross theresearch oping vaccines, says Kang. Developing a an ecosystem withmultiplepartnerships.” Covaxin’s success is tainted by controversy. Typically, Indiahasrelied onpiecemeal investmentsSome have paid off, yielding India shouldbuildself-sufficiency in devel- proposals from labs andcompanies to government hasfundeddozens of leader intranslational research. The hurdles inIndia’s quest to become a he COVID-19 pandemic hashighlighted - - - - A health workerA health prepares aCovishield vaccine doseataprivate inNoida, hospital India. ment-funded institute coordinating InDx. In Cellular andMolecularPlatforms, thegovern Taslimarif Saiyed, who heads the Centre for neering formoleculardiagnostic kits,says nies have relied andreverse onimports engi- COVID-19 diagnosis. Untilnow, most compa reaction (RT-PCR) tests, the gold standard for reverse-transcription polymerase chain self-sufficient atdevelopingIndian firms lational science isInDx, whichaimsto make hospitals anddoctorassociations. pants have rejected Covaxin, includingsome lower-than-planned uptake,­ andsomepartici India’s immunizationprogramme hashada after asecond dose. Nevertheless, preventing COVID-19 inpatients withnoprior 2021, announcinganefficacy rate of81% in of phase III trials for Covaxin in early March Bharat Biotech released results preliminary tions were raised over thespeedof theprocess. trials to establish Covaxin’s efficacy, andques Bharat Biotech hadn’t completed phase III version of Oxford AstraZeneca’s AZD1222, One project withpotential to boost trans ©

By Priyanka Pulla 2 0 2 1

S p r i n g e r

N a t u r e

L i m i t e d .

A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . - - - - in Bengalaru, India. Priyanka Pulla is a freelance journalist based spawn interdisciplinary research. Foundation, intended asacentral bodyto (US$6.86 billion) to create a National Research ing pledge was a grant of 500 billion rupees human andanimaldisease. Anotherpromis health institute to track theinterface between funds for four new virology institutes and a Indian government inits2021 budget pledged tiatives applauded by health researchers, the a turningpointforspending,however. Inini- such asBrazil and China. The pandemic may be ence thancomparable emerging economies, tic product in2017–18, Indiaspendsless onsci for Indianscience. At 0.7% of itsgross domes had theirkitslicensed forcommercial use. locally. More than20 companies have sofar their own tests, includingmakingreagents than 70 Indian companies through developing dation inNewYork, InDx began guidingmore July, withagrant from theRockefeller Foun Lack of fundinghasalways beenaconstraint

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