Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) plans to set up an Open Drug Discovery Programme (ODDP) via web portal in the public domain. The project will get one-third funding from the government, one-third from international sources and the rest from philanthropic entities.
According to Dr. Samir Bramachari, director, general, CSIR who was in Bangalore in connection with the BioSpectrum Annual Awards, the ODDP initiative, a maiden effort in the country's science research space, will have global information technology companies, researchers, pharma-biotech companies and young minds from scientific research laboratories teaming up to invent drugs at a fraction of the cost of an MNC-developed drug.
"We expect this will speed up the research needed to develop affordable drugs to treat tuberculosis, AIDS, malaria and other diseases that are rampant in India. The IITs, bio-pharma industry and scientists have been asked to participate, funds will not be a constraint for this initiative," he said.
In this regard, the government has already commenced talks with Sun Microsystems to set up web-management tools for the open source drug discovery project, which will function on similar lines of the popular online encyclopedia formed by articles contributed and edited by the intelligent minds worldwide.
Under the proposed project, researchers associated with institutions like the Royal Society of UK, Imperial College of London, Medicine Sans Frontiers and various Indian universities will have an opportunity to work on a drug discovery process even at an individual level. The contribution would also fetch reward and recognition for the scientists.
Business houses like the Kinetic Group, bodies like the Welcome Trust and various corporate groups would sponsor the rewards. The project is likely to be implemented either by the CSIR itself or the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology. This decision is pending, he stated.
'We have already built a database of the requirements for developing drugs for infectious diseases. It would be hosted online, where individual experts could contribute in solving specific aspects of the drug discovery. Specific contracts will then be assigned to individual contract manufacturers and clinical research organizations.
The CSIR is also considering other ways to encourage research. "There is also a plan to have an additional compensatory package for scientists from the government institutions who opt to work for the industry for a stipulated period. Younger scientists need encouragement to follow the kind of commitment to research work our generation had. We do have quality manpower and they only need discipline and dedication necessary for sustained research. The CSIR will protect the Intellectual Property Rights which may be shared with the industry on a royalty basis," stated Dr. Bramachari.