Hyderabad: The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) – Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, team led by director Dr. S Chandrasekhar has been awarded the CSIR Technology Award 2021 for outstanding contributions to the affordable healthcare.

The team has developed a cost-effective and scalable process for the synthesis of TLR 7/8 agonist molecule (IMDG) used as an adjuvant in Covaxin (Covid-19 vaccine).

The awards were announced on Sunday during the 80th CSIR Foundation Day celebrations held at CSIR, New Delhi in presence of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Union Minister for S&T and ES Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Other team members of the award include Dr. Ch Raji Reddy, Dr. Prathama Mainkar, Dr. M Mohana Krishna Reddy, Dr. P Nagender and Dr. N Jagadeesh Babu, a press release said. The technology helped Bharath Biotech India Limited to upscale the production of the vaccine to cater the immunization against Covid-19 for crores of people in India and abroad, the press release added.

The team worked towards a process that made use of indigenous raw materials in the midst of global restrictions to control the current pandemic when a deterrent for imports from other countries was prevailing.

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