Gennova Partners with CEPI to Accelerate Nipah Virus Vaccine Development

1 Apr 2025 , 06:20 PM

Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Limited, a subsidiary of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, on Tuesday said it has signed a new agreement with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to accelerate work on developing a vaccine against Nipah virus infection. The collaboration involves new funding (up to $13.38 million) which was announced on April 1.

Currently there are no authorized vaccines or targeted drugs against Nipah, which kills an estimated 75% of those it infects. This renders the creation of an effective vaccine essential to avoiding future outbreaks.

Gennova will develop its self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA) vaccine platform for Nipah. In collaboration with the Houston Methodist Research Institute (HMRI), the project will utilise artificial intelligence (AI) to determine the most promising targets for the vaccine.

Gennova’s CEO Sanjay Singh said he is confident of the company’s saRNA platform being able to create a coveted next-generation vaccine using this technology.

India, which has had several Nipah outbreaks in the past 20 years, will host preclinical and Phase 1 trials for the Nipah vaccine. The Nipah virus, which is spread mainly by fruit-eating bats, has led to outbreaks in South and Southeast Asia, making vulnerable more than 2 billion people globally.

This increased funding follows CEPI’s initial $3.6 million investment to enhance Gennova’s saRNA platform in August 2023 in order to better respond in a timely manner to the next “Disease X” threat. CEPI has invested over $100 million in its Nipah virus programs.

“It’s about showing that people can respond in a fast way to potential pandemic threats, in some cases within 100 days,” said Kent Kester, CEPI’s Executive Director of Vaccine R&D, referring to the project that will not only put saRNA to the test for Nipah but for future pandemic threats.