The Hindu Business Line : IICT sees laxity in contract research

THE Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), a national laboratory attracting global pharma and chemical industries to partner or outsource contract research projects, has seen a dip in both number and value of such initiatives during the 2002-03 fiscal.

A Japanese company named Kansai Paints and a couple of US companies signed agreements for contract research projects towards the end of the rather tough year in the global arena, Dr K.V. Raghavan, Director, IICT, said.

During the 2000-01 fiscal, IICT signed up contract research projects worth $1.1 million.

Novo Nordisk of Denmark, SKB of the US, Mitsubishi Chemicals of Japan, Boehringer of Germany, and L'Oreal of France were among the big names that outsourced projects.

"The events of September 11 and the recessionary trends in the global pharma industry have impacted our contract research projects," Dr Raghavan told Business Line.

The signing up of projects by the Japanese paints major and the US companies recently has revived opportunities and the laboratory is seeking to leverage its strengths.

IICT has been able to earn an average of Rs 19 lakh per contract research project now, against Rs 5 lakh about five years ago.

The lab is optimistic of extending its agreement with the Toyota group company, Aisin Labs, for a second project.

The first initiative is already on with a facility rented at the ICICI Knowledge Park.

With this changed global scenario, IICT has concentrated on protecting intellectual property and increasing its scientific research outputs.

"We have filed for a record 120 overseas patents in 2002-03 and hope to cross the 300 mark in research papers published."

The comparative figures for 2001-02 were 92 overseas patents and 252 research papers published.

IICT stood first in terms of patents filed during that year among the network of 39 national laboratories under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

IICT has focused on tapping the potential of earning revenues from offering ISO-based services to the Indian industry during the last three years.

Training, quality services and analysis together fetched the lab Rs 1.2 crore in the fiscal gone by.

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