The UK-based charity fund Wellcome Trust said it is ready to commit more funds for the biomedical research in the full spectrum of diseases and initiatives in the public health in India, apart from the newly-launched Rs 1296-crore joint fellowship programme along with the Department of Biotechnology.

"We are ready to sponsor more cutting-edge research programmes in the country so that there will be ultimately a positive impact on the health and prosperity of India," Wellcome Trust chief executive Dr Mark Walport told Pharmabiz.

Already the Trust is funding 20 international senior research fellows based in India working in research fields as diverse as neurosciences, cell biology, cancer diagnostics, genetics and diseases of the developing world, he disclosed, while talking on the sidelines of a function here.

The Trust has committed another 15 million pounds for India in the public health research. Five million pounds has been awarded for a partnership with Public Health Foundation of India for creation of new India Institutes of Public Health. Another 4.5 million pounds will be spent through South Asia Centre in India to increase the infrastructure to carry out high quality research on the prevention and control of chronic diseases like diabetes, mental illness, cancers.

The UK agency also will give 5.5 million pounds to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity in high mortality populations in South Asia. "The experts from London will be coming to India to study the diseases in the country," he said.

The Rs 1296 crore fellowship programme to boost biomedical research in India, jointly funded by Department of Biotechnology and Wellcome Trust, was launched other day. The scheme aims to strengthen the research base of Indian biomedical science by providing fellowship programmes to support researchers from newly-qualified post docs through to senior researchers.

Wellcome Trust began long-standing relationship with Indian biomedical research over 50 years back since it first made an award to Dr Selwyn Baker at the Christian Medical College in Vellore in 1957. The Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending around £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas.