The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has set up a state-of-the art spectroscopy and proteomics facilities. The facilities were formally inaugurated by Dr RA Mashelkar, director general, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research  (CSIR) and secretary, Department of Science and Industrial Research (DSIR), on Sunday.

Dr Lalji Singh, director of CCMB said, “The facilities would boost CCMB’s research and development programmes and help in serving the biotech industry in the safety evaluation of products such as insulin, interferon, erythropoetin, vaccines etc.”

Till today, the Indian biotech companies had been going to the US for testing their therapeutic products and vaccines. The new facilities will offer the world class testing services to these Indian companies more economically, Dr Lalji added.

CSIR has earlier set up a task force headed by Dr Lalji to draw a road map for creation of infrastructure for testing of genetically engineered products. The new facilities have been set up at CCMB following the task force decision to upgrade and strengthen the proteomics facility at the institute. CCMB has spent about Rs 11 crore for these facilities, and more than 80 per cent of the funds have come from CSIR.

“The new facilities will help companies in drug discovery. Today, new scientific tools and methods are required for drug discovery, development and delivery. The proteomics lab set up at CCMB is a huge step forward in this direction,” Dr Mashelkar said.

The advanced spectroscopy facility would help CCMB’s ongoing efforts in understanding how infectious parasites enter cell membranes, how do they escape immune response, the cause of cataract formation, certain neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and depression and many other works related to human diseases and also in understanding molecular dynamics of living cells.