Hyderabad foundation gets $100,000 grant for polio vaccine

Hyderabad, May 10 (IANS) Ella Foundation has won a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a virus against polio after the phasing out of the oral poliovirus (OPV) vaccine, the Hyderabad-based scientific research group said Thursday.

"Such a vaccine could carry the beneficial effects of an oral polio vaccine - namely safety, efficacy, ease of manufacture, distribution and administration along with the safety profile of an injectable polio vaccine by eliminating vaccine derived polio virus (VDPV)," said a statement from Ella Foundation.

"Vaccines play a crucial role in the eradication of diseases that affect millions of lives worldwide. The grant will help us accelerate the pace of research programmes and explore new solutions in global health priority areas," said Krishna Ella, co-founder of the Ella Foundation.

GCE funds individuals worldwide to explore ideas that help solve persistent global health and development challenges.

It is a $100 million initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Launched in 2008, over 600 people in 45 countries have received GCE grants.

Located in Genome Valley in Hyderabad, Ella Foundation - founded by Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella - is an independent scientific and industrial research organisation. Set up in 2002, its research activities focus on infectious diseases.