The work for building India's largest facility for conducting animal trials will start soon at a 100-acre site in Hyderabad, Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research Soumya Swaminathan said.
The proposal for building the National Animal Research Facility (NARF) at an approximate cost of Rs 350 crore was approved by the Cabinet last month and the work is expected to begin soon, Swaminathan informed.
"The state (Andhra Pradesh) government has allotted 102.69 acres of land at Genome Valley, Hyderabad, free of cost, to the ICMR for establishment of the facility for biomedical research. It will provide India a kind of facility which is lacking at the moment. NARF will be a very advanced institution with all types of animals," she told media.
The research facility will be the first of its kind for quality laboratory animals for basic and applied biomedical research in the country.
"When private or public companies develop a vaccine or a drug they have to go abroad to do the animal study. With NARF like institution, they will be able to do it here then," Swaminathan said.
It will be developed as a world-class facility for breeding and housing of animals such as primates, cabines and other specialised models such as transgenic and knockout rodents required for testing of various research and development products.
The facility will create, develop and provide access to a range of laboratory animals and related technological resources for advancement of biomedical research in the country, mainly to facilitate research in medical colleges, research and academic institutions, universities and biotech and bio-pharma companies.
The facility will also provide training facilities for personnel in specialised areas in the field of biomedical research.
