The Hindu : India seeks major role in herbal technology sector

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 14, 2003

National

National

India seeks major role in herbal technology sector

By T. Nandakumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Sept. 13. The expert group meeting on Asia Pacific Traditional Medicine Network (APTMNET), scheduled in Wuhan, China, between September 16 and 20, will see India leveraging its strengths to claim a major technology partnership role in the production of herbal drugs for the global market.

The creation of the regional network will enable India to employ cutting-edge technology for scientific validation of its rich traditional knowledge base of plant-based medicines.

The conference will also witness moves to forge a sub-regional bloc comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand (BIMST) for information exchange and transfer of technology.

The network proposal was initiated by the United Nations Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT) to promote the sharing of information on the development and commercialisation of traditional medicines.

Once established, the network will enhance industrial cooperation among enterprises and research and development institutes in the Asia Pacific region.

Jointly organised by the APCTT, the Chinese Ministry Of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Hubei provincial department of Science and Technology, the meeting will finalise an action plan for setting up nodal stations in member nations.

In India, the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM) has been identified as the nodal agency.

The Director of the Lucknow-based National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Dr. P. Pushpangadan, who will pilot the country paper for India at the meet, said that the BIMST nations would work out a mechanism to create better understanding on technology transfer. The first meeting of the five-nation collective was held in Bangkok last year to formulate a post-GATT policy. China was an observer at the meeting.

The proposal to set up the APTMNT was mooted by China, which commands a major share of the market for herbal medicines.

Given the absence of proper documentation of biodiversity, patenting mechanisms and legal protection of intellectual property rights, many Asia Pacific countries are wary of China's proposal, though they are open to the idea of a limited collaboration.

The world market for herbal drugs, which touched $100 billion last year, is dominated by the Northern bloc, comprising Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.S., which account for $47 billion worth of business.

Of the balance $53 billion, China commands 57 per cent of the market. With only a 2.3 per cent share, India remains on the fringes.

According to Dr. Pushpangadan, China was able to storm the market and dictate prices on the strength of its application of modern technological tools such as pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics to accelerate drug development.

"While China has focussed on the development of evidence-based medicines acceptable to the global market, India lags behind because of the failure to absorb technology for scientific validation of traditional knowledge."

He said India was ideally poised to tap the growing demand for plant-based medicines, health products, pharmaceuticals, food supplements and cosmetics.

"While rich biodiversity and traditional knowledge base are major assets for India, the R&D and production sectors are not fully equipped to meet the stringent international quality requirements."

Dr. Pushpangadan said R&D centres in the country would have to focus on documentation of biodiversity and standardisation of herbal drugs.

He stressed the need for strict quality control throughout the production chain from raw material sourcing to packaging.

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