The Indian Association of Biomedical Scientists (IABMS) has chosen Prof Om Prakash Katare of University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panjab University, Chandigarh, for the “Thyagarajan-Rajarajan Award 2012” for an outstanding patent in the field of biomedicine.

The award has been conferred on Prof Katare at the Annual General Meeting and Conference of IABMS-2012, on November 1 at Mangalore (Karnataka).

The award recognizes the grant of international patents to Prof Katare and his team in countries like Australia, China and South Africa. Besides he being the lead author, other inventors of the patent include, Prof Bhushan Kumar, Formerly Head of Department of Dermatology, PGIMER, Chandigarh and Dr Ravindra Agarwal, Ranbaxy Research Labs Ltd, Gurgaon.

The research work relates to the development of liposomal technology-enabled drug delivery system for a drug, dithranol to treat psoriasis, a dreadful skin disease. The innovation brought forth a transformational change in the efficacy and safety profile of the drug. A novel product, Psorisome came into the market for the sufferers of psoriasis by way of successful transfer of technology (ToT) to a Pharma-House, Lifecare Innovations Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon.