Three US-based companies, Clintec Research Association, California Biotechnology Consortium and Odyssey Research are to begin Indian operations from the bio- business centre of Lucknow Biotech Park. The companies would outsource R & D activities in the area of clinical research, nutraceuticals and natural products from the country.

Informing this, Dr P K Seth, CEO, Biotech Park said that the Park is to turn fully operations within few months from now. "The US companies are keen on exploring the possibilities of tie-ups with the research organizations in and around Lucknow. Once their Indian attempts prove successful, the companies may think of setting up their own R&D facilities in the Park. As of now, their operations from Biotech Park would help them have a direct link with the R & D centres who have taken up the contract jobs," he explained. The major works that are to be outsourced include generation of safety and toxicity data. Commenting on the current status of the Biotech Park, Dr Seth said that the construction work is almost over. "The 20,000 sq ft space has all been rented out. Shanta Biotech, with its proposed plans for setting up diagnostic devices manufacturing facility, would occupy the biggest space in the Park," he said.

The Park authorities have set up an herbal extraction plant with a capacity to process 250 kg per day. The extraction plant is has attracted three customers already and the authorities are having discussions with the clients on the details. The facility could be leased out to one entity on a profit sharing agreement or could be kept open to several companies on a timeshare basis, Dr Seth said. The centre also houses a bioinformatics facility. The facility is primarily meant for the professionals who are working in the neighbouring R&D institutions. Till date, 250 persons have undergone training in the bioinformatics centre.

The Lucknow Park is an example of the bio-cluster concept of the Department of Biotechnology. While the Park per se is not keen on setting up all the R & D facilities, it has agreements with all major R&D institutions of the city for sharing their existing facilities. The facilities thus offered to the entrepreneurs setting up units in the Park include DNA fingerprinting facility, facility for synthesis of nucleic fluids, thermal cyclers, DNA electrophoresis, Gel documentation system, DNA sequencing by gel based method, atomic absorption spectrophotometer, infrared spectrophotometer, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, HPLC, FT-NMR, Gas liquid chromatography, GC-MS, LC-MS-MS, transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, florescent microscope, inverted microscope etc.