Nafithromycin, India's first indigenously discovered antibiotic; first indigenous haemophilia gene therapy trial
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said on 18 October 2025 that India has developed its first indigenously discovered antibiotic, Nafithromycin, through the Department of Biotechnology and Wockhardt, and has run its first successful indigenous gene therapy trial for haemophilia at CMC Vellore.
Summary
On 18 October 2025, inaugurating a workshop on AI for multi-omics data, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said India has developed its first indigenously discovered antibiotic, Nafithromycin, which is effective against resistant respiratory infections and is useful for cancer patients and poorly controlled diabetics. It was developed by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) with the private firm Wockhardt. He also announced a breakthrough in gene therapy: the first successful indigenous clinical trial for haemophilia, supported by DBT and carried out at Christian Medical College Vellore, recorded a 60â70% correction rate with zero bleeding episodes, and its findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He said India has sequenced over 10,000 human genomes and aims for one million, and that the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) has an outlay of ₹50,000 crore over five years, of which ₹36,000 crore will come from non-government sources.
Key facts
- Antibiotic
- Nafithromycin â first indigenously discovered in India
- Developers
- DBT with Wockhardt
- Use
- Resistant respiratory infections; useful for cancer patients, poorly controlled diabetics
- Gene therapy
- First indigenous haemophilia trial, CMC Vellore; 60â70% correction, zero bleeding; NEJM
- Genomes
- Over 10,000 sequenced; target one million
- ANRF
- ₹50,000 crore over 5 years; ₹36,000 crore non-government
Practice MCQs 3 questions
Which is described by the Government as India's first indigenously discovered antibiotic, developed by the Department of Biotechnology with Wockhardt?
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Correct answer: A â Nafithromycin
PIB: Dr Jitendra Singh said India has developed its first indigenously discovered antibiotic 'Nafithromycin', developed by DBT in collaboration with Wockhardt.
India's first successful indigenous clinical trial of gene therapy for haemophilia, announced in October 2025, was carried out at which institution?
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Correct answer: C â Christian Medical College, Vellore
PIB: the trial, supported by DBT, was done in a non-government hospital, Christian Medical College Vellore.
Consider the following statements made by Dr Jitendra Singh on 18 October 2025: 1. The Anusandhan National Research Foundation has an outlay of ₹50,000 crore over five years, of which ₹36,000 crore will come from non-government sources. 2. The findings of the indigenous haemophilia gene therapy trial were published in The Lancet. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: A â 1 only
Only 1 is correct. PIB: ANRF has a total outlay of ₹50,000 crore over five years, ₹36,000 crore from non-government sources; the gene therapy findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.