India’s First Lumpy Skin Disease Vaccine Biolumpivaxin Gets CDSCO Approval

The Central Drug Standards Control Organization (CDSCO) has granted a license to Biolumpivaxin, India’s first vaccine for Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) in cattle and buffaloes, Bharat Biotech’s subsidiary Biovet announced. Developed using the LSD virus/Ranchi/2019 strain from ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE), the vaccine is the world’s first Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals (DIVA) marker vaccine, allowing accurate identification of vaccinated versus infected animals.

What is Lumpy Skin Disease

Lumpy Skin Disease, a viral infection spread by insect vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks, leads to fever, skin nodules, swollen lymph nodes, reduced milk yield, and mobility issues in affected animals. The disease has severely impacted India's dairy industry, making the approval of Biolumpivaxin a game-changer for disease control and livestock protection.

Biolumpivaxin has undergone rigorous quality and efficacy testing at ICAR-NRCE and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI). It is a single-dose annual vaccine for cattle and buffaloes aged three months and above. It has been found safe for pregnant and lactating animals as well as breeding bulls.

Dr. Krishna Ella, Founder of Biovet, hailed the CDSCO licensure as a major milestone for India’s self-reliance in veterinary healthcare, reducing dependence on imported vaccines. He emphasized that Biolumpivaxin will play a key role in making India’s dairy industry more sustainable by preventing LSD outbreaks that have already killed over 200,000 cattle in the past two years.

The Biovet facility in Mallur, Karnataka, has the capacity to produce 500 million doses annually, ensuring large-scale availability. The vaccine is expected to be launched soon.

Source-Medindia