Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which has successfully identified two species of herbs carrying elements for a potential anti-malaria drug recently, has initiated talks with pharma companies to explore possibility of conducting joint collaborations and transfer of technologies for more drugs.


With a view to expand its intervention in developing affordable and cost-effective medicines using especially the nuclear technology, the DRDO has launched interactions with the leading pharma companies in the country. The scientists from the DRDO recently held discussions to explore tie-ups with leading firms like Cipla, Glenmark, Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy’s Lab, and Hamdard.


The premier organisation, through its Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, has launched extensive talks involving around 50 pharma companies to identify areas of collaboration in the coming times, so that the benefit of its research could go to a larger section of the society, sources said.


The DRDO scientists also briefed the companies on the latest works being done on the research front. It is also learnt that the companies have also shown keen interest for collaboration. Possible partnerships are likely to be finalised in the coming months, sources said.


The health research of DRDO has been limited so far to only medicines for the armed forces, but the move has now launched to further scale up the intervention. Recently, the organisation has announced setting up of a foundry, either in Bangalore or Hyderabad, for nanotechnology-based products at an estimated Rs.500 crore in a couple of years. Cipla has already linked up with DRDO for nanotech-based drug delivery system.


The Institute has also developed drugs which will control the side-effects of cancer treatment like hair-loss, nausea, amnesia and loss of appetite due to radiotherapy given during the treatment of cancer. The DRDO has so far identified as many as 30 biomedical products and some of them are already into clinical trials.


The DRO, sometime back, identified two species of herbs carrying elements for a potential drug for malaria as an alternative to existing drugs like chloroquine. Defence Research Laboratory (DRL), Tezpur, under the DRDO, has identified two species of Gomphostema, which have the potential to cure both types of malaria i.e. plasmodium vivax and plasmodium falciparum. Both the plant species are abundantly available in the foothills of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh border.