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Indo-Polish
biotech venture feared to come a cropper
S
Harachand - Mumbai
THE
bilateral agreement reached three months ago between the govts of
India and Poland to explore the biotechnological approaches to herbal
drug development is feared to come a cropper, thanks to the paucity
of funds and byzantine bureaucratic delays.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the two, at the
beginning of this year, was actually part of a broader treaty for
exchange of information that the Ministry of Science & Technology
entered into with the Polish government, two years back. As per
the MoU, both countries have embarked upon a project to identify
and develop certain phyto molecules for a wide range of clinical
indications.
There was also a consensus that the patents rights of lead candidates
will be jointly held by India and Poland.
Consequently, experts from both the countries met at a symposium
held at Jaipur, Rajasthan in March to work out the practical aspects.
‘‘The idea was basically to exploit the strengths of both.
To make use of the best available expertise,’’ said a
researcher from an Indian pharma company who also participated in
the symposium.
The Indian expertise was primarily sought for identification of
plant species and development utilising the CSIR facilities at various
parts of the country. Likewise, the Polish scientists were expected
to support with the technical know-how and industrial back up, where
their actual strengths lie, he said. ‘‘They had also shortlisted
three potential herbs: Withania Somnifera, Picrorhiza Kurroa and
Berberis Arista for screening and further analysis,’’
he added.
The sad part of the story is that, despite all the initial euphoria,
the whole programme did not go any further or has made little or
nil progress. When contacted the Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
sources said the proposal was still in a basic stage and details
are yet to be evolved. ‘‘The department is still pursuing
the project. There was also a proposal to set up a joint R&D
lab,’’ said a DBT official.
However, sources which are close to S&T ministry say that this
project also met with the inevitable and gathering dust. They point
out two major impediments which hamper the project take-off. One
is, fund crunch. Due to the current financial slump, the Polish
govt is not in a position to cough up the fund to finance the project.
Now Poland expects India to provide the funds. Secondly, they blame
the Polish bureaucratic system for the inordinate delays.
In any case, perhaps with all its scope and potential, one more
project is seemingly being buried without seeing the light of the
day, mired in lethargy and official disinterest.
(With inputs from GI Gireesh Chandra Prasad/New Delhi)
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