Author: Biotech Express

In the sweltering summer of 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), headquartered in Atlanta, became the epicenter of a seismic shift in American public health policy. The firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez and the resignations of key senior officials sent shockwaves through the nation, exposing deep-rooted tensions over pharmaceutical influence, bureaucratic resistance, and the role of science in a polarized society. At the heart of this upheaval stood Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the newly appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), whose controversial tenure would redefine the CDC’s trajectory and ignite a firestorm of debate.…

Professor Varshney, the only one from Western Australia among the 26 scientists elected in 2025, joined the distinguished cohort of new Fellows during Science at the Shine Dome, the Academy’s flagship event that celebrates the global impact of Australia’s top scientists. Now one of Australia’s leading voices in agricultural genomics, Professor Varshney’s journey began in the farmlands of India, where the vision of food security shaped his career path. Inspired by the legacy of Indian agricultural pioneers like M.S. Swaminathan—the “Father of India’s Green Revolution”—and Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug, Varshney built a career spanning three continents, dedicated to using science…

Dr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla, Chairman, Serum Institute of India (SII), part of Cyrus Poonawalla group and the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, today inaugurated the grand new building of Indian Red Cross Society’s Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla School for Hearing Impaired at a new premise at ‘Centenary Centre’, Lulla Nagar, Pune. The newly built school is equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure and modern amenities for the hearing-impaired children. The Villoo Poonawalla Foundation (VPF) has given all forms of support to the school since it was established and has helped the school to improve its facilities, resources, and programs, providing students with a better…

Based on the available public information, including official announcements from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), one could criticize the move to commercialize a vaccine with an “Expression of Interest” (EoI) when there is a notable absence of published, peer-reviewed clinical data. The main point of contention is that while the ICMR’s press releases and the EoI document itself highlight promising preclinical results and the vaccine’s unique dual-stage mechanism, they do not provide the in-depth, independently verifiable data that is typically required to assess a vaccine candidate’s true potential. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is developing an…

The sudden and often tragic deaths of seemingly healthy young adults in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have become a source of profound public concern and widespread speculation. As countless anecdotal reports flooded social media and local news, a narrative linking these fatalities to COVID-19 vaccines gained traction, fueling anxiety and vaccine hesitancy. In response, India’s premier medical research bodies, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), undertook extensive studies to provide a definitive answer. Their findings, published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research (Vol. 158, October 2023), and…

In a significant development at King George’s Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, the university’s newly formed purchase committee has accused the Transfusion Medicine Department of major financial irregularities spanning from 2015 to 2025. The allegations primarily target Dr. Tulika Chandra, the former head of the department, involving a multi-crore scam related to inflated testing charges, procurement fraud, misuse of funds, and forgery of signatures. This controversy erupted in early August 2025 and has led to investigations, her temporary removal from the post, and subsequent reinstatement under conditions. After scam surfaced, there has been a reduction of 17X in…

The company’s managing director, Dr. Sharvil Patel, announced that Zydus plans to launch market-specific dosage variants of the Semaglutide rather than a uniform product. This approach, he explained, is part of a broader strategy to offer differentiated formulations that provide significant benefits over existing products. In a key innovation, Zydus has also developed a novel, all-in-one pen device that can deliver multiple dose strengths, eliminating the need for patients to use separate pens. This is expected to enhance convenience and affordability, particularly for the Indian market, which Dr. Patel anticipates will be the company’s primary revenue driver. Regulatory filings are…

Biocon Biologics Ltd, the biosimilars arm of Biocon Ltd, launched Nepexto®, a biosimilar to Enbrel® (etanercept), in Australia on July 23, 2025, partnering with Generic Health, a leading local distributor. This move expands affordable treatment options for autoimmune diseases, reinforcing Biocon’s global footprint in biologics. Nepexto® targets conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, plaque psoriasis, ankylosing spondylitis, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis by inhibiting tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a key inflammation driver. Enbrel®, developed by Amgen and co-marketed with Pfizer, is a costly blockbuster, often exceeding $50,000 annually, limiting access. Nepexto®, approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration in September 2022 and…

On August 27, 2025, India launched its first National Biofoundry Network (NBN) under the BioE3 Policy, a pivotal move to propel the nation’s $165.7 billion bioeconomy toward a $300 billion target by 2030. Spearheaded by Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, the NBN integrates six leading institutions—ICGEB (New Delhi), NCCS (Pune), THSTI (Faridabad), ACTREC (Mumbai), IPFT (Haryana), and NABI (Punjab)—to transform biotechnology research into market-ready solutions. The network leverages synthetic biology, gene editing, and AI-driven tools to advance healthcare, climate-smart agriculture, and green biotechnology, fostering self-reliance by scaling up indigenous biomanufacturing.The NBN provides shared infrastructure for startups, SMEs,…

India’s biotechnology sector is rapidly transforming, driven by strategic government initiatives and significant investment. Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, recently announced a milestone achievement: India now has a network of 94 biotechnology incubators across 25 states, a remarkable increase from just 50 biotech startups a decade ago to over 13,000 today. The government, primarily through the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and its Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), has invested Rs 489.42 crore over the past 13 years (2012-2025). This funding is crucial for nurturing new startups and researchers by providing essential infrastructure, shared…