Lumpy skin disease vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech's Biovet gets CDSCO licence

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech group company, Biovet, has announced that its Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) vaccine for dairy cattle and buffaloes, Biolumpivaxin, has received a license from the Central Drug Standards Control Organization (CDSCO).

Biolumpivaxin, is the world's first-ever Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals (DIVA) marker vaccine. The soon-to-be-launched Biolumpivaxin is the world's only marker vaccine for LSD.

Biovet -- an innovative animal health vaccine producer -- is based in Mallur, Karnataka. This vaccine offers a high safety and efficacy profile while enabling serological differentiation between naturally infected and vaccinated animals with the DIVA concept in it.

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 characterized 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.

The quality, safety, and efficacy of the vaccine have been extensively tested at ICAR-NRCE and at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), ensuring it meets the highest global standards.

ICAR and its scientists made significant contributions and played a crucial role in the development of this collaborative, world-class vaccine for animal health.

“This DIVA marker vaccine is a game-changer for veterinary medicine for disease surveillance and eradication programs. Epidemiologists and Field workers can now distinguish if an animal received BIOLUMPIVAXIN or was previously infected with LSD. 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,” said, Biovet, founder, Dr Krishna Ella

Over the past two years, approximately 200,000 cattle have died, and millions more have lost their milk production capabilities due to Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) nationwide. The LSD vaccine Biolumpivaxin will very soon be commercially available. The Biovet Mallur facility can produce 500 million doses of Biolumpivaxin annually.

It is a single vaccination regimen given once in a year to cattle and buffaloes above three months of age. Thousands of cattle/buffaloes were vaccinated under field conditions by ICAR-NRCE, Hisar as well as Biovet and the vaccine is found to be safe and efficacious. Also, it is found to be safe in all the groups of animals including pregnant and lactating cattle and buffaloes apart from breeding bulls.

During the 2022 LSD outbreak in India, morbidity rates reached up to 80% with case fatality rates as high as 67%, across states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir. This caused an estimated economic loss of over Rs 18,337.76 crores and a 26% decline in milk production, significantly harming the dairy industry and the rural economy. In India, LSD has emerged as a major threat to dairy productivity, impacting millions of small-scale marginal farmers.