Avestha, TNO in research tie-up

Avestha Gengraine Technologies, a Bangalore-based healthcare technology company, and the Netherlands-based TNO Quality of Life have signed a strategic agreement to develop new products related to heart and obesity disorders.

TNO Quality of Life is equivalent to CSIR of India. But is active through a public private partnership in the Netherlands and spins off companies as it nears commercialisation.

Addressing a press conference after signing the agreement, Avesthagen CEO and founder Villoo Morawala-Patell, said through this collaboration, her company plans to take forward food for medicine programme through Indian traditional plant-based medicine with western validation methods.

Both the companies, for six months, plan to explore models available and modern genomics-based research to take up complex molecular networks in the human body. Collaboration is also aimed at finding new plant-derived bioactives that manage and counteract development of overweight and associated later-stage disease development.

"After initial exploratory work for six months, TNO plans to float joint venture with Avestha Gengraine Technologies to commercialise and raise money abroad," said Kees Ekkers, managing director of TNO Quality of Life.

The agreement was signed on Saturday by Avesthagen and TNO Quality of Life, counter-signed as witness by the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and deputy prime minister, Laurens Jan Brinkhorst.

As per the collaboration signed it is expected to yield new understanding in managing metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity and cardio-vascular diseases threatening many societies, by developing new dietary solutions at an early stage.

Morawala-Patell said: "TNO has developed several very important human disease models in animals. They also have a unique dynamic model for kinetic studies in digestive physiology and a strong expertise in nutrigenomics research, which is also expressed by TNO's coordinating role in the multi-million Euro EU project on Human Nutrigenomics."

"Presently, India has approximately 30 million people suffering from diabetes. WHO predicts that the figure will touch 40 million by 2010. That is a large section of our population. Together we hope to address this problem", she added.