Dr M K Bhan, the man behind the rotavirus vaccine passes away
The man behind India’s first indigenously developed vaccine, Dr M K Bhan is no more. Also a former secretary in the department of biotechnology, he was 72 and was battling pancreatic cancer.
Dr Maharaj Kishan Bhan, an eminent paediatrician and clinical scientist, Bhan contributed significantly to science and healthcare in India. Born in November 1947, he completed his MBBS from Armed Forces Medical College in Pune in 1969. After that, he pursued MD (paediatrics) degree from PGIMER, Chandigarh. His postdoctoral research at AIIMS Delhi was focussed on diarrhoeal diseases and child nutrition. His research mainly focused on the role of micronutrients, especially zinc. This finally led him to the development of India’s first indigenously developed vaccine for rotavirus.
“India has lost a biomedical science icon and a thorough leader in health. He touched many lives at AIIMS, in academia, in industry and across the global health community. His scientific work will continue to save millions of children in the world. So many of us have also lost a dear friend, an inspiring philosopher and a visionary,” NITI Aayog member VK Paul said.
Bhan, a Padma Bhushan awardee, also played a key role in garnering international funding in biotechnology and healthcare by partnering with global institutions like Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust.
“He was a true pioneer in the fields of science and health,” Gates Foundation tweeted.
As DBT secretary, he was instrumental in setting up the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, or BIRAC, a public sector enterprise that enables academia-industry research collaborations in the development of relevant biotech products.
Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoeal disease in children worldwide, and vaccination is the best prevention. Nearly 215,000 children aged under 5 years still die every year from the vaccine-preventable infection, according to WHO estimates.
The rotavirus vaccine, developed in collaboration with vaccine and biotherapeutics manufacturer Bharat Biotech, was the first that India built from scratch. It was licensed for use in India in 2014 and is one of four WHO-approved oral vaccines for the disease.
Source: Times Of India, The Print