India's first functional genomics R&D center set up

Friday, 04 October 2002, 19:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
India's first national facility to discover drugs and carry out research in the field of functional genomics was launched here Thursday. The facility was set up with an investment of 60 Million.

HYDERABAD: The state-of-the-art facility, set up at the premier research institute Centre for Cellular Molecular Biology (CCMB), will help scientists and researchers to use animal models for human diseases. Set up with an investment of 60 million, the facility will use two latest molecular biology techniques -- transgenic animal and knockout mice. Under the first technique, a gene responsible for specific human disease is transferred into a mouse embryo to produce a transgenic animal. In the knockout mice method, introducing a defective gene normal gene function is disrupted. The facility would produce transgenic mice strains for serious human diseases. The institute will be acquiring licenses to do research for diseases like Alzheimer, Hepatitis B, colon cancer, leukaemia and neuro degenerative diseases, Lalji Singh, director of CCMB told a press conference here. "This facility and the methods used here would help in scientific trial of drugs and quick development of drugs. "Unlike the trials on humans, these trials on animals would also reduce the chances of rejection of drugs," he said, adding domestic pharmaceutical companies can also make use of the facility for research purposes. CCMB scientists recently cloned a novel gene namely 'wd13', which is reported to have a role in sex determination. Singh said the facility would try to develop diseased animal models if the import cost of the same was very high and the import was made on conditions, which may not be acceptable to the institute. Manju Sharma, secretary in Department of Biotechnology, said the facility at CCMB would be the national facility where industry could also undertake drug research. The institute and the collaborative company will jointly share the intellectual property rights for the product. A Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) facility, which would help in analysis and sorting of animal and plant cells, was also unveiled in the CCMB campus. Developed at a cost of 25 million, the facility has been funded by Department of Biotechnology, Department of Science and Technology and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, The facility would be useful for clinical research and diagnosis of diseases particularly for AIDS cases. Sharma urged the scientists at CCMB to focus on specific areas to develop commercial products. Emphasizing the need for institutes to develop partnerships with industry, she said the biotechnology industry, which was estimated at 500 million in 1997, was expected to grow to 4.5 billion by 2005.
Source: IANS