The Hindu Business Line : Low-cost psoriasis drug to hit market soon

(From left)Mr N. Vaghul, Chairman, ICICI Bank and ICICI Knowledge Park, Dr R.A. Mashelkar, Director-General, CSIR and Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Mr G. Steven Burrill, Chief Executive Officer, Burrill and Company, Prof V.S. Ramamurthy, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Mr S. Bhattacharjee, Representing Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, and Mr Bala S. Manian, Chairman, International Knowledge Millenium Conference-2004 , at the three-day conference on `Biotechnology in India: Building bridge between science and industry', in Hyderabad on Sunday. - A. Roy Chowdhury

Hyderabad , Oct. 31

A low-cost drug to fight psoriasis will hit the market in the next two and half years. The drug is being developed by Lupin, CDRI (Central Drug Research Institute) and NIPER (National Institute Pharmaceutical Education and Research).

The skin disease afflicts over 2 per cent of the global population and the market is worth $4 billion-$5 billion. The company has just finished the Phase I clinical trials. "The remaining two phases are expected to be completed in the next two and half years," said Dr R.A. Mashelkar, Director-General of CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research).

Delivering the inaugural address at the International Knowledge Millennium Conference here on Sunday, Dr Mashelkar said the marriage of the traditional systems of medicine with modern science and the latest scientific and technological advances would help evolve cheaper yet effective medical solutions.

Taking a cue from the indigenous solution for the disease, the combined effort on psoriasis is to evolve a solution that conformed to internationally accepted scientific procedures.

Studies will be taken up to find solutions to 20 more diseases.

Dr Mashelkar asked chemical engineers to have a re-look at plants and create designer plants.

They could design a plant that could produce most chemicals now synthesised by different plants.

Dr Mashelkar, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the WHO (World Health Organisation) panel on intellectual property rights, said the next meeting of the panel would be in New Delhi next week.

The panel will suggest a mechanism by which the poor get access to cheaper drugs.

It will meet drug manufacturers, non-governmental organisations and scientific institutions.

Contesting the Western rankings based on the total number of scientific publications and citations, Dr Mashelkar has come out with rankings based on publication based on GDP per capita of nations that put India and China at the top two slots.

While India is at No. 1 with 31 scientific publications and 77 citations, China occupies the second position with 23 scientific publications and 69 citations, leaving behind the US at third place.

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