Common R&D facilities in pharma sector stressed

Common facilities for research, testing and trials, and a special drive on human resource development training to professionals required for these specialised activities were some of the recommendations put forward in a meet conducted by the Government of India's department of science and technology with the Indian pharma and drug companies and institutions here on Sunday.

Briefing the media on the deliberations and the suggestions made for increasing the focus on the urgent need for R&D initiatives in the drugs and pharma sectors in the wake of the World Trade Organisation norms, V S Ramamurthy, secretary to department of science and technology, said that the R&D incubators will contribute significantly to the new innovations and research of the collective initiative by the government and the industry.

"In no way can I say that the Rs 150 crore earmarked for this specific purpose in the Union Budget for the year 2005-06 is sufficient when compared to the scale of expenditure on R&D by countries like the US. Yet, it is a significant step towards supporting the drug development endeavour when we consider the relatively small fund earmarked in the earlier budgets," Ramamurthy said.

Of the Rs 150 crore fund that has been earmarked for the current fiscal, over Rs 80 crore would be allotted to the industry at a nominal interest rate of 3 per cent while the rest will go to institutions as grant-in-aid, according to Ramamurthy.

Strengthening of traditional systems of medicine was also one of the suggestions that came up during the session.