The Union ministry of industry and commerce (MoI&C) has approved the roadmap prepared by the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine for detailed documentation of the traditional knowledge repository of the country in regard to the medicinal properties of the rich flora in the subcontinent.

The DISM report has also been vetted by the ministry of science & technology.

The data development is aimed at thwarting presumptuous patenting of India's known expertise by foreign countries and institutions, which has caused serious concern of late.

As per the note prepared by the panel consisting of patent experts, officials from the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, National Informatics Centre and DISM, as many as 2,000 medicinal plants have been identified for initial documentation. The documentation will be done using the descriptions available in ten ayurvedic texts selected amongst 54 such classic texts endorsed by the government.

Speaking to pharmabiz.com, Shailaja Chandra, secretary, DISM said that the process of documentation would begin soon. "We are planning to adopt some renowned academic institutes in ayurveda like the Gujarat Ayurvedic University and the Benares Hindu University which could take up the task of documented validation of the therapeutic qualities of these plants." The data would include detailed nomenclature such as the local, botanical and Latin names of the plants besides comprehensive detailing of the medicinal properties they possess.

The information would be put up in a website of the Indian patent office so that they would be available internationally to any agency. Foreign institutions have lately obtained patents by claiming novelty and innovation in the knowledge they have supposedly acquired of India's flora and the process involving the plants and their parts.

A conspicuous case of unfair attempt at patenting have been foiled recently by the CSIR chief Dr R A Mashelkar who got the grant of patent to the wound healing property of turmeric by the US Patent office revoked by effective intervention. The explanation given by the US patent office was that the patent was granted, as it did not have access to documented information about Indian knowledge.

The data bank to be generated now would be used by the Indian patent office to stymie any such act in the future. The government has already initiated a move to upgrade the Indian patent office attached to the industry ministry in the wake of the country's imminent adoption of a product patent system as mandated by the World Trade Organisation.

Already, a patenting facilitating centre is functioning under the department of science and technology (DST). The centre has recently prepared a report on the patentability of microorganisms, also aimed at securing the country's knowledgebase.

With India adopting product patent regime soon, the Indian patent office needed to be upgraded with adequate infrastructure and information availability. A move is already on in the ministry of industry in this direction.