The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), an autonomous R & D organisation, has signed an agreement with Indigene Pharmaceuticals to develop plant-derived medicines for the international market. It is for the first time that CSIR is tying up with a pharmaceutical company to develop plant derived medicines. The development of plant derived medicines is in line with the present trend of healthcare providers and patients worldwide seeking safer and effective treatment options.

According to sources, the development of medicines would be carried out initially at a CSIR laboratory at Bangalore and once the active compound is identified , further research and late stage development would be done at the R&D facility, also in Bangalore, of Indigene. Manufacturing of the same would also be done at the latter.

Both CSIR and Indigene would be pooling in equal share of financial resources to develop the medicines which then would be licenced to Indigene for commercial manufacture for a royalty. Indigene would also take up marketing of the medicines in the international market, according to the sources.

"Indigene, with its proprietary knowledge base and technology, is well positioned to accelerate CSIR's product development and commercialisation efforts in the phytopharmaceutical domain," the sources said.