The expert committee on Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Research Programme (DPRP) under the Ministry of Science and Technology is meeting here on January 15 to decide the fate of ten proposals seeking R&D funds.

The committee will decide the viability and quantum of the funds for the proposals and approve them in the meeting. The proposals include collaborations, national facilities and pharma loans, Ministry sources said.

Among the proposals, pharma majors Ranbaxy and Nicholas Piramal India are seeking soft loans for R&D while there is an application by the Jadavpur University for grant-in aid for collaborative project. National Institute for Research on Reproductive Health is seeking fund for a national facility for drug testing in connection with their programme of making disease-free monkeys.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has so far approved ten projects worth Rs 30 crore this year and projects for the rest of the earmarked Rs 30 crore were in different stages, the sources said. Under the DPRP, the Government had set apart Rs 60 crore for the current financial year, after revising the initial outlay of Rs 130 crore for the want of sufficient proposals.
"Despite all efforts by the authorities, pharma firms were not coming forward as expected to make use of the loans from the Government, thus the funds remain underutilized,'' official sources said.

The Ministry had earmarked Rs 130 crore initially for the current year under this Pharmaceuticals Research and Development Support Fund, most of the proposals from the firms did qualify for the same, forcing the authorities to revise the outlay.

As per the revised allocation, Rs 35 crore was for soft loans on R&D and Rs 25 crore was for grant-in-aid for collaborative projects and facilities involving public sector research organizations.

During the last fiscal, the Ministry had disbursed Rs 115.05 crore, riding on the new-found enthusiasm by the industry, clearing as many as 37 projects. It included 17 soft loans, seven collaborative projects and 13 national facilities.