The European Union is now aggressively scouting for researchers in India under the forthcoming Seventh EU Research Framework Programme for 2007-2013. The research strengths of the Indian industries and institutes have impressed the EU commission.
Under the sixth European Union Research Framework programme for health project, which commenced in January 2006, AstraZeneca Research India (AZRI) was selected in the 16 member research team for an Integrated Tuberculosis (TB) project which spans for a five year period.
The European Union has funded the TB research initiatives at cost of $10.7 million. Among the 16 member partnership for the project, AstraZeneca Research India is the lone representative from India and the others include companies from the European Union.
Under the five year project, the 16 participants have to invest not only their expertise but also funds for research.
For the project AstraZeneca is engaged in providing a drug library of 10,000 compounds to be screened.
In the current 6th EU Research Framework Programme (2002 - 2006) there are 50 collaborative research projects with 75 participants from India including the Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (New Delhi), Indian Veterinary Research Institute (Izatnagar) and International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (New Delhi).
The FP7 has a budget of Euros 55 billion ($70 billion) for 2007 - 2013. It includes collaborative research, investigator driven research and research fellowships in the areas of infectious diseases, biotechnology, bioinformatics, stem cells and genetics.
According to Dr. Andrew Sors, Minister and Counsellor, Head of Science and Technology, European Commission Delegation to India, Bhutan and Nepal, there are mutual advantages both for India and the EU primarily because both share the tradition of scientific excellence and a commitment to the crucial growth of science & technology.
"The EU is actively associated with Bangalore Bio 2006, because it is a major opportunity to strengthen links and partnerships across academia and enterprise in these fields of Science & technology," Dr. Sors stated on the occasion of the European Union day observed on June 8, the second day of the biotech event.
Dr Manuel Hallen, Head of the Policy & Strategy Unit for Biotechnology, Agriculture & Food at the European Commission in Brussels, said that there were so far only two agri biotech projects under the Sixth European Union Research Framework programme and called for an increased interest among Indian researchers for the Seventh schedule.
The EU involvement in Bangalore Bio was preceded by a major India-EU workshop on Infectious Diseases, held at the IISc on June 5 and 6 which was sponsored by the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India and the European Commission. Some 40 leading researchers from India and from Europe presented their latest findings in relation to tuberculosis, malaria & HIV/AIDS and explored prospects for future cooperation.