The Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) is likely to convene an extra ordinary meeting of its General Council next week to explore the possible options to restore the trademark of Jeevani, which was filed by a U.S. based firm Nutrisciences Innovations LLC.

The meeting will assess the controversy related to the current status of the compound, including its Indian trademark, validity of the patent, royalty fees and the possibility of pursuing with the earlier decision to float global tenders to sell the compound, in the wake of a series of articles published by Pharmabiz.

The suggestions of the meeting would be briefed to the higher authorities of the state Government and a decision to initiate necessary legal action was likely to be taken soon, said Dr.G.M.Nair, director of TBGRI, in an exclusive private interaction with Pharmabiz.

"We are likely to rope in some leading IPR expert consultants to guide us on the matter. We have to know whether the move would cause us a huge financial burden, and the possible timeframe, our chances of winning the case if initiating a legal action etc. We have to consider other factors as well, including the support of the scientific community and the stand of masterminds who invented and marketed Jeevani, IPR experts in the country and other concerned Government agencies. One thing is for sure, I will do my level best to ensure the patent for Jeevani remains with TBGRI and its benefits also goes to the Kanis" said G.M. Nair.

"I was amazed by the support extended by the 1000 odd biotech experts from different parts of the world who attended a seminar in Delhi recently where I presented the Pharmabiz reports and support documents to elaborate how Jeevani is being misused by other firms. All of them had egged me to initiate any possible actions to restore the rights and offered help to protest against the infringement", said Dr.Nair.