The Central Drugs Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow, has developed a PCR-based diagnostic kit for rapid detection of tuberculosis. The kit is not available in the country so far which has many advantages including subtle detection of the bacteria without any chances of misleading. It will be released for public soon.

The polymerised chain reaction technology-enabled kit is useful in early diagnosis of TB and can detect even one micro bacteria present in the patient. The kit, fully designed and developed by the Lucknow-based CDRI, will be released soon, Institute director Dr C M Gupta told Pharmabiz.

The CDRI has tied up with Biotron Healthcare for its commercial launching and marketing. The director said such kits were not available in the country and hence it had many advantages including subtle detection of the bacteria without any chances of misleading.

Referring to the ongoing drug discoveries at the Institute, Dr Gupta said the phase III multicentric clinical trials on compound 80/574 (hypolipidemic) would likely to be completed sometime next month. The trials were going on at SGPCGI and KGMU, Lucknow, PGI at Chandigarh and Seth GS Medical College, Mumbai. Besides, pharmacokinetic studies were also nearing completion.

He said the clinical trials were already launched for the two herbal products to fight the diabetics. The CDRI had already tied up with Boston-based Indigene Pharmaceuticals, which is operating out of Hyderabad in India, for the two products.

Clinical studies to evaluate efficacy of Pircroliv (hepatoprotective) in alcoholic crirhosis and in tuberculosis patients on MDT were also being carried out at three centres. The multicentric efficacy studies on the anti-malarial drug Arteether were also in progress at Dibrugarh, Rourkela, Jabalpur, Jodhpur and Guwahati.

The public sector prestigious research institute has already developed a dozen new drugs so far and six of them were commercialised. It has tied up with a number of companies including Nicholas Piramal, Torrent Pharmaceuticals as associates for new drug discoveries under progress.

The drugs already developed and licensed by the CDRI for marketing included Centchroman (a non-steroidal oral contraceptive marketed by Hindustan Latex under the trade name of Saheli), Centron by Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Centbucridine, a local anaesthetic marketed by Themis Chemicals as Centoblock, Arteether, a blood schizontocidal anti malarial marketed by Themis Chemicals under the trade name of E-Mal, Bulaguin, an antirelapse anti-malarial marketed by Nicholas Piramal under the brand name of Aablaquin and Gugulipid, a hypolipidaemic, marketed by Cipla under the name of Guglip.