India to launch CRISPR Centre of Excellence in Innovation and Translation

A Letter of Intent (LoI) has been signed for the establishment of CRISPR Centre of Excellence for Innovation and Translation (CoE-CIT). It will be a dedicated centre to convert the scientific inventions made in the laboratory into real-world clinical applications using state-of-the-art CRISP technologies. CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is a gene-editing technique that allows scientists to precisely cut, alter, or remove DNA.

Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), a Bengaluru-based autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Delhi-based CRISPRobits Private Limited (CRISP), a focus on biotechnology using CRISPR gene-editing technology to develop affordable diagnostics , jointly announced the signing of a Letter of Intent (LoI) for setting up of CoE-CIT. It is a historic public-private partnership between academia and industry in the country.

The CoE-CIT aims to deliver lab-ready drugs to the patient and provide therapeutic benefits by combining JNCASR's expertise in basic biomedical sciences and applied gene-editing and translational platforms of CRISPR bits. It demonstrates how Indian scientific innovation can be effectively harnessed for societal and clinical benefit. The Centre of Excellence will serve as an exemplary national model for academia-industry partnerships to strengthen the biotechnology and innovation ecosystem of the country.

Umesh Waghmare, Chairman, JNCASR informed that setting up this co-educational institute in its campus in partnership with CRISPRbits, a specialist in intelligent molecular platforms, for the development of affordable and accessible innovative solutions in health sciences is an important initiative for JNCASR. This unique partnership, with interplay in genetics, molecular and chemical biology and computational biology, will pave a new path for society and national missions.

Image caption- Prof. Umesh V Waghmar (L), President, JNCASR and Dr Vijay Chandru (R), Co-Founder and CEO , CrisProbits Pvt. Ltd.