Indian genetic database offers R&D advances

Imagine a diabetic patient from Kerala being put on a drug regimen distinct from a patient in Punjab.

If Indian researchers have their way, such customised medication based on genetic differences could be a possibility for a range of illnesses.

A consortium of Indian scientists recently completed a genetic database for India, home to one of the world's most ethnically diverse populations, that will allow researchers to understand the genetic predisposition of ethnic groups to diseases.

The genetic map will enable global and Indian pharma companies to enhance research on predictive medicine and targeted drugs. Research firm TCG Life Sciences is about to become the first private player to use the database.

"We are all set to make use of the data to launch innovative clinical research models for drug discovery companies," said Swapan Bhattacharya, director and head.

Another user of the data is the clinical diabetics' consortium, which aims to identify if there are specific genetic reasons for a particular ethnic group to be predisposed to the disease.

The genetic variation mapping was undertaken by the Indian Genome Variation Consortium, a public-private partnership that networks six Council of Indian Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) labs and some private software firms.

The project was initiated by Samir K Brahmachari, director, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology and Lalji Singh, director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, almost four years ago. Over 150 scientists were involved.

The consortium collected data on the genetic codes of over a 1,000 genes from among 15,000 individuals belonging to Indian sub-populations. The research was completed a couple of months back.