The Hindu Business Line : Indian drug firms focus on micro-organisms

MORE than two decades after an Indian-born scientist, Dr Ananda Chakraborty, obtained the first global patent in the US on a `live organism' - the genetically modified bacteria that was useful in the petroleum industry the interest in obtaining patents on micro-organisms has just started picking up in India.

Driving this pursuit are corporates such as Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Biocon India, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Lupin and Reliance Life Sciences to name a few.

The Council of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR) with its string of 39 national laboratories is a lead player.

The focus is on patenting bacteria, virus and fungi that have potential to throw up products and processes in the health, pharma and other related sectors. About 600 patent applications have been filed from 1995 to the end of 2003.

Interestingly, while Dr Chakraborty was granted the patent after a protracted legal battle in 1980, the first patent in India was also granted to Dimminaco A.G. for its invention of a micro-organism, in a landmark decision by the Kolkata High Court on January 15, 2002. After this decision also, Indian Patent Offices did not grant patents for micro-organisms per se.

Biotechnology industry has been exploiting these micro-organisms extensively. The genetic material of these tiny organisms serves as raw materials. For example, fungi are widely used in bakery, wine and antibiotic industry; certain bacteria are used for making vaccines and now transgenics are being created with new applications.

For over a hundred years, however, living organisms were excluded from patent laws. Life forms were considered a product of nature and not human invention. This non-patentable status of living organisms changed with the Chakraborty vs Diamond case, says a study done by the Patent Facility Centre (PFC), under the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council.

In the US and most countries of Europe, they are patentable now.

Of the 600 applications filed in India, 294 relate to bacteria, 189 to virus and 13 to fungi. Interestingly, Dr Reddy's Research Foundation (11), Novo Nordisk (10), Gist Brocades (10), Procter and Gamble (7) and Biocon India (6) are active in exploiting the versatile world of bacteria. Again, CSIR (48) applications dominate the field.

In virus, the interest is centred around herbal compositions, vaccines and production of antibodies. Diagnostic kits to detect virus are another area, which has generated considerable interest among the 189 patent applications. Here, Cadilla Pharmaceuticals (9), Reliance Life Sciences (9) and Asgrow Seed Company (8) are the dominant players, PFC study said.

Fungi have attracted 13 applications so far. Preparation of anti-fungal compounds and culture media for the growth of fungi is the focus area, with CSIR (5) and BASF (7) applications being the key claimants.

Do these developments portend the emergence of the Indian biotechnology industry? Perhaps yes feels the PFC study.

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