BS RAWAT
NEW DELHI: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has launched a vaccine trial to prevent occurrence of TB among close contacts of a TB patient. This vaccine trial is an important step in prevention and for decreasing the burden of this disease.

After a detailed landscape  analysis of the available lead vaccine candidates, two potential vaccine candidates VPM 1002 and MIP were shortlisted for taking forward through the phase III vaccine trial in healthy house hold contacts of sputum smear positive TB patient, a senior official said.

The two vaccines include VPM1002, which is produced by Serum Institute of India, Pune, and the other vaccine is Mycrobacterium Indicus Pranii (MIP).

This clinical trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of these two vaccines in a single trial against control group with no vaccine, the official said.

The study would enroll 12000 healthy household contacts of sputum smear positive TB cases that are at high risk of contracting the disease, from 7 sites in 6 states including Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

Dr. Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR, expressed appreciation for the government’s support and researchers involved in the trial. He said that the clinical trials are needed in India to show that the vaccine is safe and effective, and that it can provide protection to Indian populations where the disease is endemic.

The ultimate goal is to develop a vaccine that can prevent active TB and be a part of large campaigns aimed at eliminating the disease. This clinical study in India could help achieve this goal and significantly advance the global fight against Tuberculosis, he added.

Dr. Rohit Sarin, Director, NITRD, said that this is a much awaited trial and assured full support in timely completion of the trial.