Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Apr 03, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Apr 03, 2004 |
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Industry & Economy
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Health Malaria expert calls for separate funds Our Bureau
Hyderabad , April 2 A LEADING biotechnologist has called for setting up a special fund for research and development to tackle malaria. Delivering the Dr A.V. Rama Rao Research Foundation Award Lecture on `Malaria parasite genome and drug targets' here on Friday, Dr G. Padmanabhan, former director of Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore), said the country should evolve a national policy based on constant surveillance using modern methods. Advocating a drug combination method, he said the drugs with different targets could prove helpful in tackling the disease. "The field is quite exciting for young scientists. There is a tremendous possibility for new findings," he said. He said about two-three million people died in malaria-afflicted countries of South America, Africa and the Indian sub-continent. "Nearly 1.5 million people get killed in Africa alone," he said. The problem, he said, was that malaria parasite often developed resistance to drugs over a period of time. Though the mortality rate was not high in India, the disease resulted in huge economic costs for the country. "In my opinion, it will take at least a decade to invent a vaccine. So it is important to have drugs that can tackle the disease," he said. Earlier, Dr Padmbanabhan, along with Mr T.L. Shankar, Dr T.S. Prahlad, Dr Vishweshwaraiah Prakash and Dr Lalji Singh were felicitated by the foundation for their selection for this year's Padma awards. Dr S. Varadarajan, former Director-General of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was conferred on the Lifetime Achievement Award recognising his services to the scientific field.
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