The Ayurvedic drug manufacturers in Kerala, in association with the State Government and central assistance, is floating a Rs 62.5-crore company to set up a world standard quality control and R&D facility for the common benefit of the industry and also to create brand equity for Kerala Ayurvedic medicines in the global market.

The sources close to the project informed Pharmabiz that the new brand equity promotion corporation named as The Confederation of Ayurvedic Renaissance (Keralam) Pvt. Ltd., would have its infrastructure at a 10-acre plot of the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) park at Koratty near Thrissur.

The company will be officially launched on the Vijayadasami day this year, on 23rd October 2004, and is likely to take off fully within the next 18 months.

Visualised as a world class cluster of various components related to the Ayurvedic drug manufacturing process, the project envisages to position itself as a 'model Ayurvedic centre for the world' to proclaim the fame, tradition, and the curing capabilities of classical Kerala Ayurvedic medicines.

"The project will have a mini or pilot plant for classical formulations with most modern manufacturing facilities as well as packaging machines to show the world that we are not behind any country in the case of quality manufacturing process, packaging, raw material processing etc," said Ravichandran, the project in charge on behalf of Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC).

However, the company will mainly stress to assist the R&D requirements of the Ayurvedic manufacturers in the state, who cannot afford to set up global standard R&D facilities individually. The firm will have advanced drug standardization, quality control and analytical equipments required for proving the efficacy, quality and standards of Ayurvedic drugs, in accordance to modern parameters. Further, the firm will act as a raw material quality assurance agency and sourcing centre for the Kerala Ayurveda drug manufacturers, who at present face difficulties in sourcing quality raw materials.

Still in the blueprint form, the company is also likely to develop an herbal park of rare and endemic medicinal plants required for the industry, besides a museum on Ayurveda to encapsulate the strengths and traditions of Kerala Ayrveda which has a proven track record for over 5000 years.

Brand creation for Ayurvedic medicines in the global market will be the major goal of the project. For this, the Confederation of Ayurvedic Renaissance Keralam Pvt. Ltd will develop its own protocols of quality certifications similar to ISO certification or other global standards for the Ayurvedic medicines manufactured by the Kerala manufacturers. This will be projected in the international market as a quality benchmark for Ayurvedic products, informed Dr. D Ramanathan, general secretary of the Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers Organization of India (AMMOI).