Rohtak university researcher designs anti-Covid vaccine

Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Rohtak, May 11

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In a major breakthrough, a researcher from Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) in Rohtak has designed a vaccine against Covid, the most dreaded global pandemic which has gripped many countries and continues to affect and kill millions of people worldwide.

The ‘3CL Hydrolase-based Multi-Epitope Peptide Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2’ has been designed by Dr Renu Jakhar, who has recently completed her PhD at Centre for Medical Biotechnology of MDU, by using immuno-informatics.

The said research paper of the Rohtak university research scholar has been accepted for publication by the Journal of Medical Virology, a reputed international journal published from the USA, after sharing it with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“This is a protein-based vaccine which will strengthen our body’s immunity by raising the generation of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Utmost care has been taken to ensure that the epitopes used in the vaccine are non-toxic and non-allergic,” Dr Renu revealed while talking to The Tribune here.

The researcher maintained that after the vaccine is ready, animal trials could be carried out at MDU if the government and university authorities grant permission to do so.

It may be pertinent to mention here that the clinical trials on animals and human beings is a time-consuming process and it may take up to nine months for the vaccine to be available in the market.

“The development of vaccines usually takes several years. It would be unprecedented if the vaccine is available by the end of the current year or early next year.

“This has become possible with the advent of computer-aided immuno-informatics tools, genetic and protein engineering,” observes Prof SK Gakhar, eminent scientist and Vice-Chancellor of Indira Gandhi University (IGU), Meerpur, Rewari, under whose supervision the said research has been carried out.

Professor Gakhar points out that as of now there are eight candidate vaccines in clinical evaluation stage and nearly 100 others in pre-clinical evaluation stage.