CEPI backs Pune's Immunoscript with $8.9M for freezer-free RNA vaccines
What's the deal? The Coalition for Epidemic PreparednessDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Innovations (CEPI) will give Pune-based Immunoscript Life ScienceDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → up to $8.9 million to develop thermostable, or "freezer-free," RNA vaccines. The grant funds clinical testing of the startup's self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) platform, designed for settings where cold-chain infrastructure is limited.
Why now? Conventional mRNA vaccines must be stored and transported at ultra-low temperatures to stay stable. "During an outbreak, this can impact access to doses in low-resource or remote settings," CEPI noted — a gap Immunoscript's nanoemulsion-based platform aims to close.
Who's behind it? Immunoscript is led by founder and chief executive Sanjay Singh, former chief executive of Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, the company behind India's only mRNA Covid-19 vaccine. Gennova, an Emcure PharmaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → subsidiary, transferred its mRNA business to Immunoscript less than two months ago.
What's the endgame? The money supports early Phase I human trials for safety, testing the platform against rabies as a prototype for future unknown pathogens. Singh said trials could start within about six months, once Indian regulators approve. "It is day 69 since the start of the company, and the company received its first funding," he told businessline .
The bigger picture: The platform is tied to the "100 Days Mission," a campaign led by CEPI and backed by India and other G20 and G7 nations to develop vaccines against emerging diseases — so-called "Disease X" — in as little as 100 days. "India already serves as one of the world's major vaccine hubs," said CEPI chief executive Richard Hatchett.
The signal: The grant ranks among the largest of its kind for an Indian health startup, sitting in the 94th percentile of health grants in India over the past 48 months. It underscores India's growing weight in global vaccine research and the push to make next-generation platforms viable far beyond well-equipped labs.
Read more: thehindubusinessline.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
