The Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), Thiruvananthapuram, has decided to license out the trendsetter herbal drug, Jeevani, to global pharma companies, as the 7-year manufacturing and marketing license granted to Aryavaidya Pharmacy-Coimbatore, has already expired.

The drug, which is the first ethno-pharmaceutical molecule developed in the history of drug research and patented by TBGRI and the original custodians of a tribal medicine on equal rights, is a renowned anti-stress and revitalizing herbal concoction with immuno-enhancing properties.

TBGRI would now float global tenders to offer manufacturing and marketing license of this drug after completing the ingredient validation by an internationally accepted agency, informed Dr (Prof.) GM Nair, director of TBGRI, in an exclusive interview with Pharmabiz.

Currently, TBGRI is in the process of identifying a competent professional agency to validate the ingredients according to global standards, Dr Nair said. "We are in the process of entrusting the validation of ingredients to a globally acceptable agency, and negotiations are on with two-three institutions, including Avestagen of Bangalore and a Mumbai-based company. Once that process is over, we will float global tenders. The drug is a proven product launched in the market after many years of research, and trials at various levels. Jeevani has global acceptance and immense recognition. However, we feel validation by a competent agency is necessary to emphasis its efficacy and ingredient quality in accordance to world standards. The whole process may not last beyond a few months," he added.

Once the validation process is over, the institute would work out the licensing modalities. Dr Nair said that any domestic or international pharmaceutical company could participate in the tender.

"Of course AVP can compete in the global tender, if they are interested, we are not against any company," said Dr Nair when asked whether the move would severe the relationship TBGRI had with AVP. However, AVP top-level sources had indicated that the company was unlikely to further pursue Jeevani, mainly because of the hiccups the company had to face during its license period though flushed with orders from different parts of the world.

The scientists of TBGRI developed Jeevani in 1994 from a rare plant, Trichopus zeylanicus, known in local parlance as aarogyappacha, endemic to Agasthyar Hills, a biological hotspot near Thiruvananthapuram. But, the tribal community, which is the fifty per cent partner in the Jeevani patent right, provided the original knowledge about the basic potential of the drug.