HYDERABAD: The Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA) on Saturday said it will be conferring the Dr BS Bajaj Memorial FABA Special Award 2022 on Biological E Ltd’s managing director Mahima Datla in recognition of her efforts in augmenting the global fight against Covid-19 with Corbevax vaccine.
Biological E, which is one of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturers, has developed India’s first indigenous protein sub-unit vaccine against Covid-19.
The recombinant vaccine has been developed from the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein on the virus’s surface and uses Dynavax’s CpG 1018 adjuvant with alum to help the body develop an immune response against the SARS-CoV-2.
Apart from Datla, retired IAS officer BP Acharya will be conferred the FABA Lifetime Achievement award for his contribution to All India Biotech Association (AIBA).
Acharya has been serving as advisor to ICMR for the National Animal Resource Facility for Biomedical Research (NARFBR) after his retirement from MHRD in 2020.
He coordinated significant initiatives of the government of erstwhile unified Andhra Pradesh to develop Genome Valley and the biotech sector in the region.
The awards will be conferred during the 19th edition of BioAsia, which is touted as the largest annual global biotechnology and life sciences summit in Asia, that is organised by the Telangana government and FABA. FABA executive president Prof Reddanna said: “The Dr BS Bajaj Memorial Award is a distinction bestowed on an individual or organization committed to advancement of life sciences.”
