Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : March 10, 2023 3:12 PM IST
The technology licensing agreement was formally signed between IIT Kanpur and Reliance Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. at a MoU exchange ceremony in the presence of several dignitaries.
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has developed a ground-breaking technology that has the potential to revolutionize gene therapy for many genetic eye diseases. It has licensed the technology to Reliance Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd, which will further develop the technology as an indigenous product. A MoU was signed between IIT Kanpur and Reliance Life Sciences in this regard March 10 in Kanpur. It is believed to be the first time that a gene therapy technology has been developed and transferred from an academic institution to a company in India.
A faulty gene is behind many inherited disorders. In gene therapy, the faulty gene is replaced with a functional version of the gene to treat such inherited disorders.
The new gene therapy technology is developed by Prof. Jayandharan Giridhara Rao and Shubham Maurya from the Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering (BSBE), IIT Kanpur. Their patented technology modifies the gene of an organism to treat a hereditary disorder.
The technology modifies a specific location on an Adeno-associated virus (AAV) (viral vector). This helps optimize its ability to deliver genes to the affected cells and improve its effectiveness. They claimed that their new gene therapy technology has the potential to improve gene therapy for many hereditary diseases, especially inherited eye diseases. When tested in animal models of blindness, they found significant outcomes in correcting the vision impairment.
Elaborating about gene therapy, Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director of IIT Kanpur, stated that gene therapy using viral vectors is emerging as a potent tool in the field of molecular medicine. He is optimistic that their gene therapy technology could be a promising tool for treating a wide range of hereditary eye diseases including Leber congenital amaurosis and Retinitis pigmentosa.
K.V. Subramaniam, President of Reliance Life Sciences, commented, expressed happiness that they got the opportunity to work with IIT Kanpur and take forward this innovative technology to commercialization.
