The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Business incubator facility getting ready at Rajiv Gandhi Centre

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 10, 2007
ePaper

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Business incubator facility getting ready at Rajiv Gandhi Centre

G. Mahadevan

HLL, RGCB to work together on vaccines, diagnostics
RGCB to provide technical support to HLL

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hindustan Latex Limited (HLL) is likely to be the first customer of the Business Incubator Facility at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) here. The centre was recently taken over by the Central Government.

Talks are on to ready a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this, RGCB Director M. Radhakrishna Pillai told The Hindu here.

HLL and the RGCB will work on vaccines and diagnostics at the Incubator. “We will work on developing vaccines for TB and Hepatitis-C,” Dr. Pillai explained.

HLL General Manager K.R.S. Krishnan said the company was eyeing the vaccines market and would enter it in phases. “Initially we may get the vaccine itself under our brand. In the second phase we may purchase the active ingredient and formulate the vaccine and in the third phase, develop the vaccine itself. This requires a lot of technical and infrastructural support. This is where an R&D centre such as the RGCB can step in,” he explained.

Though these are, broadly, the areas where HLL and the RGCB may work together, discussions are yet to take place on specific projects, he added. Latex also has its sights fixed on the diagnostics market and is preparing to bring out diagnostic kits for various diseases (including malaria, dengue fever and HIV) and medical conditions. Its diagnostic kit for pregnancy may be ready in a few months. The development of such diagnostic kits may also be done with technical assistance from the RGCB.

The RGCB Incubator Facility (RIF) was originally proposed in ‘Biotech 2010.’ It is a five-year vision plan submitted last year to the Centre. This is intended for young scientists who lack the financial wherewithal to translate their R&D skills into a market reality.

The RIF, according to Dr. Pillai will provide start-up facilities, technical expertise, networking and community-building facilities and necessary infrastructure for corporate and business development, workforce development and communication requirements. Initially 1200 sq.ft of laboratory space will be set apart for the RIF. This will be expanded as and when required.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala

News Update

Stories in this Section