ICAR-CIBA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with M/s. V. K. Aqua Feeds, Andhra Pradesh on 3rd July 2025 for the technology transfer of ‘CIBA EHP Cura Gro plus’– technology. This phytobiotic-based product is technically designed to control and treat Ecytonucleospora hepatopenaei (EHP), a microsporidian that causes huge production losses in shrimp farming. EHP has emerged as a major threat to shrimp aquaculture, causing an estimated annual economic loss of Rs 4000 crores. After seven years of intensive research on EHP, ICAR-CIBA developed a phytobiotic-based product for the control and treatment of EHP named ‘CIBA EHP cura gro plus’ aimed at the effective control of EHP. This product has undergone an extensive multi-location field validation in shrimp farms of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Gujarat. The field trials have shown that the product significantly inhibits EHP proliferation, reduces Vibrio load, enhances immunity, health, survival, and growth of shrimp.
Dr. Kuldeep K.Lal, Director, ICAR-CIBA, emphasized the critical threat posed by diseases like EHP to the shrimp aquaculture and highlighted the successful field performance of the product.
Dr T. Sathish kumar, Senior Scientist and principal investigator of ‘CIBA EHP Cura GroPlus’, briefed the gathering about the genesis of the product’s development, scientific basis, and its significance in mitigating EHP.
Shri.S.Srikanth Sudheer Reddy, M/s. V. K. Aqua Feeds, Andhra Pradesh, congratulated the CIBA team on their achievement, acknowledged CIBA’s pivotal role in the brackishwater aquaculture sector, and expressed confidence in the product’s performance and its commercial potential.
The event was coordinated by the Institute Technology Management Unit (ITMU), CIBA, and attended by heads of various research divisions.
