India has moved beyond vaccine manufacturing to advanced biomedical capabilities: Jitendra Singh
New Delhi, Sept 13 (TNT): India has moved beyond being known primarily as a vaccine manufacturer and developed advanced capabilities in vaccine technologies, complex biological products and epidemic preparedness, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said on Sunday.
Addressing a high-level reception for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) Board and Investors Council here, Dr Jitendra said India’s diverse disease landscape, expanding scientific capabilities and growing bioeconomy provided a unique platform for vaccine research, epidemic preparedness and development of biomedical solutions for global health.
He said India had made a significant transformation over the past decade and built a vibrant bioeconomy, strong vaccine development capabilities and a scientific ecosystem capable of contributing to global preparedness for future epidemics and pandemics.
India’s bioeconomy reached USD 195.3 billion in 2025, registering 18 per cent year-on-year growth, while the country’s biotech startup ecosystem expanded to 11,855 startups, including 1,780 new startups added during the year, he said.
The biopharma sector accounts for nearly 30 per cent of India’s bioeconomy, the Union Minister said, adding that the country now has capabilities across the vaccine value chain, from research and innovation to advanced biologics development and large-scale manufacturing.
India supplies vaccines to more than 100 countries, accounts for nearly 60 per cent of global vaccine production and meets more than 65 per cent of the WHO’s routine immunisation requirements, he said.
Recalling the COVID-19 pandemic, he said India had not only developed vaccines in a remarkably short period but also supplied them to other countries and partners, changing the global perception of India’s scientific and technological capabilities.
He said India’s heterogeneous disease landscape was an important scientific advantage, as the country continued to face a wide spectrum of communicable diseases alongside a growing burden of non-communicable and metabolic disorders.
“India provides such a fascinating research area” because of the diversity of microbes present in the country and the depth of scientific talent available to study them, he said.
The Union Minister said the DBT-BIRAC-CEPI partnership was helping translate India’s scientific potential into vaccines and other biomedical interventions.
Under the India-centric CEPI Mission, Ind-CEPI, India has developed GEMCOVAC-19, its first mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which received Emergency Use Authorisation. An inactivated Chikungunya vaccine candidate is undergoing Phase II/III trials, while vaccine candidates for Monkeypox and pan-sarbecoviruses based on multivalent self-assembled nanocage technology are at an advanced pre-clinical stage.
The BRIC-THSTI Bioassay Laboratory, recognised as one of CEPI’s 17 centralised network laboratories, has supported eight vaccine candidates at various stages of development and tested more than one lakh samples for vaccine development.
He said the partnership had also strengthened regional capacity through advanced vaccinology courses and the PACT programme, which has provided online training to more than 2,400 participants from 14 friendly and neighbouring countries.
He said the next phase of cooperation should focus on translating India’s scientific strengths into greater global health impact through pan-pathogen vaccine development, advanced biomanufacturing and wider national and international collaborative networks.
He called for greater cooperation among government, academia, industry and international partners to convert scientific capabilities into deployable solutions and strengthen preparedness against future epidemics and pandemics.
TNT KS
