The Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (Coimbatore) Ltd., the 62-year-old ayurveda practitioners and pharmaceutical manufacturers, are planning for expansion of its R&D facilities with a new drug testing laboratory, apart from its venture in launching new products and research tie-ups.

The company is on completing civil works for a new Drug testing laboratory for Ayurveda, in its factory premises at Kanjikode, of Palakkad district, Kerala. The expansion is under the Office for Standardisation of Ayurvedic Drugs and Herbs Initiative (OSADHI), and will enable the existing laboratory to check consistency and standards of widely used Ayurvedic formulations.

A comprehensive database and raw drug museum for identification and codification of raw materials used in Ayurvedic practise will also be developed under the program. The new laboratory with a cost of Rs 2 crore will start functioning within a year, said sources to pharmabiz.

Arya Vaidya Pharmacy has developed a complete herbal anti-fatigue, stress-relieving product for which, the efficacy study has been conducted in JSS College Of Pharmacy, Tamil Nadu and the product is waiting for the approval from drugs control administration for commercial launching. The company is also planning to introduce a natural cleanser for use in hair-care segment and the product will be launched within six month.

A study on Ksheerabala (101) Thailam, for its analgesic, anti-inflammatory property, a project in tie-up with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), is at the third phase of clinical trial. In the project, the oil has been transformed to soft gelatin capsule for easy administration.

A project for manufacturing bio-availability enhancers, anti-oxidants and safe appeal-enhancers in food articles from natural waste of herbal raw materials after drug manufacturing is in its final stage. The company has completed trials on the project and will start commercial utilisation of the result by the first of 2006, said P Sukumaran, Director, The Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (Coimbatore) Ltd.

The Rs 25-crore Arya Vaidya Pharmacy has introduced five kashayam tablets into market recently. The Dasamoola Katutrayam for cough and breathing problems, Rasanaerandadi for rheumatic complaints and curing pain and swelling of knees, hip joint, cervical region, Manjishtadi for skin disease and rheumatic complaints, Dhanwantharam for neuro mascular disorders, Indukantham for Immuno enhancing, are the newly launched kashayam tablets from Arya Vaidya Pharmacy.