New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS): The Central Drug Standards Control Organization (CDSCO) has granted license to Biolumpivaxin -- the country’s first vaccine against lumpy skin disease (LSD) in dairy cattle and buffaloes, Bharat Biotech group company Biovet said on Monday.

The novel indigenous live-attenuated marker vaccine was developed using the LSD virus/Ranchi/2019 vaccine strain from Indian Council of Agriculture Research-National Research Centre on Equines (ICAR-NRCE), Hisar.

The technology was commercialised to at least four vaccine manufacturers, including Bengaluru-based Biovet, in 2022.

“Biolumpivaxin is India’s first LSD vaccine. It is also the world's safest and first-ever Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals (DIVA) marker vaccine,” said Biovet, an innovative animal health vaccine producer based in Mallur, Karnataka, in a statement.

The vaccine, slated for launch soon, offers a high safety and efficacy profile while enabling serological differentiation between naturally infected and vaccinated animals with the DIVA concept in it. The quality, safety, and efficacy of the vaccine have been extensively tested at ICAR-NRCE and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), ensuring it meets the highest global standards.

“This DIVA marker vaccine is a game-changer for veterinary medicine for disease surveillance and eradication programmes. Epidemiologists and field workers can now distinguish if an animal received Biolumpivaxin or was previously infected with LSD,” said Dr. Krishna Ella, Founder of Biovet, in the statement.

“The CDSCO licensure for this vaccine is a significant step toward India's self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat) in veterinary healthcare, which avoids dependency on imported vaccines. As India moves towards a disease-free livestock population, this path-breaking vaccine will play a crucial role in ensuring the dairy industry's sustainability,” Dr. Ella added.

The company noted that “Biolumpivaxin will very soon be commercially available. The Biovet Mallur facility can produce 500 million doses of Biolumpivaxin annually”.

LSD is a transboundary animal disease that has gained significant attention in India due to its severe impact on cattle health and the dairy industry. The disease is characterised by the development of skin nodules across the body, fever, swollen lymph nodes, decreased milk yield, and difficulty in movement.

LSD virus transmission is largely attributed to vector bites, with mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting insects playing an essential role.

In the last two years, about 200,000 cattle have died across the nation, while millions more have lost their milk production capabilities due to LSD.

Biolumpivaxin is a single vaccination regimen given once a year to cattle and buffaloes above 3 months of age.

In clinical trials, thousands of cattle/buffaloes were vaccinated under field conditions by ICAR-NRCE, Hisar as well as Biovet, and the vaccine was found to be safe and efficacious.

It was also found to be safe in all groups of animals including pregnant and lactating cattle and buffaloes apart from breeding bulls.