The Hindu : Front Page : TB drug: CSIR on the verge of breakthrough

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 11, 2005

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TB drug: CSIR on the verge of breakthrough

Shastry V Mallady

First phase of clinical trials under way; announcement expected soon

KARAIKUDI: The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is developing an indigenous drug for tuberculosis under `drugs for the poor' programme that brings together public-private partnership in the pharmaceutical research.

"The TB drug is undergoing first phase of clinical trials at the CSIR laboratories and a breakthrough is expected soon", the CSIR Director-General, R.A. Mashelkar, said here on Sunday.

In an exclusive interview to The Hindu during his visit to the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI) here, Dr. Mashelkar said the country's premier body for scientific research was bringing together traditional medicine, modern medicine and science for the drug development programme that had now reached an advanced stage.

He pointed out that a TB drug in the current context became indispensable since the last time a drug for tuberculosis came out was in the year 1963.

"Our drug means a lot not only to the large number of Indian patients but also to the entire African region, plagued with TB in the background of HIV-AIDS," he said.

Stating that the final process of the new drug could be completed in four years after multiple lab trials, Dr. Mashelkar said he was "very optimistic" of the end result due to the progress made so far.

According to him, the CSIR's TB drug is expected to be more effective to patients with regard to time taken for treatment/cure. While normally it takes eight to ten months to recover despite a heavy daily dosage, "a TB patient with our drug can feel much better in two months time," he said and added that a substantial budget allocation was made for the drug.

Several reputed pharmaceutical companies in the country were also involved in the project going on under the CSIR banner of New Millennium technology initiative.

Civil aviation

Dr. Mashelkar said the CSIR was also playing an active role in the aviation sector that was now seeing a boom in the country. Technology for small flights connecting short distance destinations is one area it was working on at present and the "substance of our work is to create products that India needs."

During his visit to CECRI campus, he interacted with scientists and officials, and also addressed them on the issue of global competitiveness, passion, inspiration and compassion.

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