The department of biotechnology has already chalked out a road map for a National Stem Cell Action Programme, which will focus on Clinical applications. For this, DBT has set up a Task Force on Stem Cells to promote and aid Stem cell city clusters and a Stem Cell Priority Funds has to give a fillip to the programme in the country. The Task Force will oversee and aggressively promote strategic international tie-ups and organise annual stem cell meets to asses the advancement in the research.
Out of the Rs 500-crore budget which DBT received this year, the Task Force on Stem Cells expects 30 per cent surplus funding which would be left over after the allocation for different projects by the DBT, stated Dr. D Balasubramanian, director of research LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad and chairperson of the Task Force of Stem Cell in the country. He was speaking at the week-long Indo UK stem cell workshop being held in Bangalore at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Research.
The 15 stem cell labs in the country are expected to receive a funding of Rs 15 crore. With India's strengths in basic science and clinical expertise, the country is becoming a hot bed for several stem cell initiatives. The labs are currently undergoing advanced stem cell research, and centres like LV Prasad Eye Institute, CMC-Vellore and All India Institute of Medical Sciences have already pioneered stem cell treatment. It is the skill and competence of the India scientific and medical fraternity which led United Kingdom to actively scout for tie-ups from Indian stem cell majors, he said.
The special advantages that India has in the areas of stem cell research are the strict adherence to the guidelines formulated by international agencies and the DBT, Indian Council of Medical Research which are currently playing a pro-active role. The clinicians are raring to go and be a part of the stem cell wave to provide the best of patient care, stated Dr. Balasubramanian.
The Task Force on Stem Cell has announced stem cell city clusters at Hyderabad, Vellore, New Delhi, Bangalore and Pune-Mumbai to share the facilities, ideas, clinical opportunities and business possibilities. There will be several stem cell research workshops in the country. In June 2005, there will be dedicated workshop for clinicians to allow interactions with scientific communities. The idea of the city clusters is to increase the collaborations, which will eventually ensure funding mechanism and inter agency co-operation, he explained.
Dr. K Vijay Raghavan, director National Centre for Biological Sciences said that International Stem Cell Workshop is a platform to facilitate collaborations in research.
With an aim to bring together private and public research funding, a team of UK scientists at the workshop are here to look out for partnerships. UK has formulated a 10-year vision for stem cell research. In this connection UK has over £ 2.5 billion grant up to 2008 allocated in biotechnology which includes stem cell research. UK, a world leader in stem cell research, is now keen to associate with Indian stem cell majors to take advantage of progressing their research, stated Sir Michael Arthur, British High Commissioner to India.