On the event of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Institute of Genomic and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) has transferred indigenous know-how for growing a CRISPR-based gene-editing remedy for Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) to the Serum Institute of India Private Limited (SII).
India has the second-highest variety of kids born with SCD globally, with an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 new instances annually, significantly among tribal communities in Central India. SII will now conduct clinical trials to develop a cheaper remedy for this genetic dysfunction.
At current, CRISPR-based gene-editing remedy for SCD prices round USD 3 million (roughly Rs 26 crore), primarily as a result of excessive licensing charges. The newly developed indigenous know-how, nevertheless, is anticipated to carry the associated fee all the way down to round Rs 50 lakh.
Meanwhile, IGIB has already begun the primary section of clinical trials in collaboration with a number of companies, together with the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and CSIR.