The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, is collaborating with Ahmedabad-based animal healthcare company Hester Biosciences to develop a vaccine against Covid-19. It expects the vaccine to be ready for animal studies by the end of this year. The vaccine is planned to be based on the recombinant avian paramyxovirus-based vector platform. The recombinant avian paramyxovirus-1 will be used to express the immunogenic protein of SARS-CoV-2, and that will be a vaccine candidate for further study. The avian paramyxovirus-1 has been explored as a vaccine vector for various animals and human pathogens and used to express the immunogenic protein of human pathogens like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), avian influenza virus, human parainfluenza virus, and SARS-CoV. Similarly, it has also been explored as a vaccine vector for animal pathogens like infectious bursal disease virus, infectious laryngotracheitis virus, bovine herpes virus, and Nipah virus, among others. The work is currently in its early stage of development. The institute?s role will be to produce the recombinant vaccine candidate. The IIT?Guwahati?team, headed by Sachin Kumar, associate professor in the department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, has already generated the recombinant avian paramyxovirus-1 based vaccine platform for Classical Swine Fever and Japanese encephalitis. ?It is too early to comment on the efficacy and immunogenicity of the vaccine. We will be able to reveal more details about this vaccine when we have the results of animal studies,? Kumar said. Hester Biosciences Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Rajiv Gandhi said the company?s involvement would be from master-seed development to release of the commercial vaccine. Primarily an animal healthcare company and the second largest poultry vaccine manufacturer, this is the first time Hester is foraying into human vaccines. Gandhi said Hester will now continue with its foray into human vaccines. "We have plants in Tanzania too where we are in discussions with the government there for a human vaccine. Going forward, our human vaccine division could overtake our animal vaccine division," he said.