Imagine a cancer treatment that doesn't poison the body, but teaches it to save itself. A Hyderabad-based startup, PopVax, is at the forefront of this revolution, developing vaccines tailored to fight a patient's specific tumour.
A New Frontier in Oncology
In the world of cancer
therapy, the word 'vaccine' usually brings prevention to mind. But a new wave of treatment, known as therapeutic vaccines, aims to treat existing cancers. Hyderabad's PopVax, a biotech startup founded in 2021 by Soham Sankaran, is one of the players in this highly specialised field. Their mission is to create personalised cancer vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. This approach moves away from one-size-fits-all treatments and towards a therapy designed for a single patient. In late October 2026, the company launched its 'RNA Foundry' in Hyderabad, an advanced facility designed to research, develop, and manufacture these patient-specific vaccines.
The Science of a Personalised Attack
Every cancer tumour is unique, carrying its own set of genetic mutations. These mutations can cause the cancer cells to produce abnormal proteins called 'neoantigens', which are not found on healthy cells. This makes them a perfect target. The immune system can recognise these neoantigens as 'foreign', but often the response is too weak to destroy the tumour. This is where PopVax's work begins. The process starts by taking a sample of a patient's tumour and sequencing its genetic material to identify these unique mutations. Using AI and machine learning, their platform predicts which neoantigens are most likely to trigger a strong immune response.
How an mRNA Vaccine Fights Cancer
The technology at the heart of this approach is mRNA, which became a household name during the COVID-19 pandemic. An mRNA vaccine works by delivering a set of instructions to the body's cells. For cancer, instead of instructions to build a viral protein, the vaccine carries the genetic code for the specific neoantigens identified from the patient's tumour. This mRNA is packaged into a lipid nanoparticle (LNP), a tiny fatty bubble that protects it and helps it enter the body's cells. Once inside, cells use these instructions to produce the tumour-specific neoantigens. The immune system's 'teacher' cells, called dendritic cells, present these neoantigens to T-cells, effectively training them to hunt down and destroy any cancer cell in the body displaying those same markers.
Beyond 'One-Size-Fits-All' Treatment
Traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation are powerful but indiscriminate, often damaging healthy tissue and causing severe side effects. Personalised cancer vaccines offer a highly targeted alternative. By programming the immune system to attack only the cells with specific tumour markers, the potential for collateral damage is significantly lower. This approach represents a paradigm shift from broad-spectrum attacks on rapidly dividing cells to a precise, intelligence-led assault guided by the tumour's own genetic signature. The goal is a more effective treatment with fewer debilitating side effects, potentially used in combination with other immunotherapies to boost their effectiveness.
The Long Road from Lab to Clinic
While the science is promising, it is crucial to understand that these treatments are still experimental. PopVax has not yet administered its cancer vaccine candidates to patients and must still navigate the long and expensive process of clinical trials to prove safety and efficacy. The company has stated its intention to initially work with a small group of doctors and patients outside India through compassionate-use pathways, pending regulatory approvals. The manufacturing process itself is complex, taking one to two months to create a single patient's vaccine from their tumour sample. PopVax aims to complete this process in eight to ten weeks at its new Hyderabad facility.
Hyderabad's Growing Biotech Clout
PopVax's ambitious work is taking place in a fitting location. Hyderabad's Genome Valley is India's premier life sciences cluster, home to over 200 companies and a significant hub for vaccine production globally. The presence of topndier research institutions, a skilled workforce, and significant government support has turned the city into a powerhouse for pharmaceutical and biotech innovation. A homegrown company like PopVax developing cutting edge,' firstinclass,' therapies from the ground up—rather than just manufacturing drugs designed elsewhere—signals a new phase of maturity for India's biotech industry and its ambition to be a global R&D leader.
