Effective R&D for new drug molecules needed in India, says study

A researcher stressed that scientific inventions in the field of medicine needs to be integrated more with pharmaceutical technology and clinical aspects for better results.

New Delhi: There is a need to step up effective research and development for formulating new drug molecules in the country, a senior official said on Tuesday.

"The formulation of generic drugs in our country is very good, but it is not the same in case of the new drug molecules. For this, we need to have very effective research and development and expertise, in which we are still a bit low profile," National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education Android Research (NIPER) Director V. Ravichandran said at a programme here.

He stressed that scientific inventions in the field of medicine needs to be integrated more with pharmaceutical technology and clinical aspects for better results.

About the expenses of cancer treatment, Ravichandran said the drugs used to treat the disease would only become cheaper if they come to the open market, "but if the drug is patented after the discovery, then only that person gets all the business benefit. That is not shared with anybody".

"India is not getting many of the good new drugs in the open market for treating cancer," he said on the sidelines of a conference organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce on comprehensive cancer care.

Ravichandran said while a lot of good work is being done in the science aspect in West Bengal, the state is lagging in integrating its scientific inventions with the industry.

"The science needs to have integration with the pharmaceuticals technology, only then the drug utility comes into picture.

"The integration of science with clinical and pharmaceutical aspects is necessary. When the science is combined with pharmaceutical science and applications of the clinical aspect and reaches the industry, it becomes the lead molecule," he added.