Prime Highlight
- India has licensed five companies to produce and commercialize AdFalciVax, its first indigenous multi-stage malaria vaccine.
- The vaccine is affordable, scalable, and effective for over nine months at room temperature, making it suitable for widespread use.
Key Facts
- India contributes 1.4% of global malaria cases and 0.9% of malaria deaths, with 95% of its population living in malaria-prone areas.
- The vaccine was developed by ICMR’s Regional Medical Research Centre in Bhubaneswar and tested with national research institutes.
Background
India has taken a major step in fighting malaria by licensing five companies to produce and commercialize AdFalciVax, the country’s first indigenous multi-stage malaria vaccine. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) announced the decision during the India MedTech Expo 2025 in New Delhi.
The licensed firms are Indian Immunologicals Limited, Techinvention Lifecare, Panacea Biotec, Biological E Limited, and Zydus Lifesciences. The vaccine is meant to stop the entry of Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite, into the blood. AdFalciVax will eliminate malaria transmission in communities by preventing the parasite at an early stage.
“This vaccine is affordable, scalable, and stays effective for more than nine months at room temperature,” an ICMR official said. The technology was developed by the Regional Medical Research Centre of ICMR in Bhubaneswar. It went through pre-clinical testing with ICMR’s National Institute of Malaria Research and the National Institute of Immunology in Delhi.
In India, Malaria is still a serious public health problem. The country holds 1.4% of the global malaria case burden and 0.9% of global malaria deaths. About 95% of the Indian population lives in areas where malaria is common, especially tribal and hilly regions that are hard to reach.
The decision of ICMR to collaborate with industry is an effort to popularize the vaccine. The licensing is an extension of a larger initiative to transform research into practical solutions that can save millions of people and enable India to minimize its malaria burden.
