Two professors, Dr Ashwini Nangia and Dr Radha Rangarajan, from University of Hyderabad (HCU) have bagged the Biotechnology Innovation Grant (BIG) for taking forward their ideas to proof-of-concept stage in the healthcare and biotechnology sectors.

To encourage early stage companies, academics and entrepreneurs, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), an interface agency of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has recently introduced this biotech innovation programme where the successful academicians and entrepreneurs will get a grant of about Rs.50 lakhs for doing pre-clinical studies and then take it forward for the benefit of larger sections of the society.

According to sources at HCU, both innovators work at the Technology Business Incubator within HCU campus. They are also incubates at Life Science Incubator in IKP Knowledge Park, which provides membership, networking, branding, funding support and laboratory infrastructure to start ups. IKP is the BIG partner for both the new projects.

Speaking to Pharmabiz, Dr Ashiwin Nangia, Professor from the Department of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad said, “My idea is to take forward a modified drug design where the functional groups bind to the insulin and regulate its release in diabetic patients. The modified insulin will bring down the glucose levels and help in treating the diabetic patients effectively.”

Dr Nangia further explained that if the modified drug is administered to a patient suffering from diabetic just 10 minutes before having food it will effectively last for six to eight hours and can be very much helpful in controlling glucose levels by taking just one to two tablets a day.

The Professor says his main focus is to test novel drug molecule for treatment of type 2 diabetes for which he will be taking up pre-clinical animal trials.

Another Professor Dr Radha Rangarajan is focused on identifying developing novel therapies for multidrug resistant (MDR) infections.

MDR infections are a major public health concern, as they are associated with high levels of morbidity, mortality and treatment costs. A successful drug emerging from this research would add to the armament of medicines for the effective management of infectious diseases.

As the research of both the professors is at the initial stages of pre-clinical trial, it will take at least about 12 to 18 months to take up the next step in their research based on the results obtained from studies on cell lines and preclinical trials in animals.