Its Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) initiative to develop an anti-TB molecule would soon go for first phase clinical trial
Hyderabad:The Council for Scientific and Industrial Researchs (CSIR) Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) initiative to develop an anti-TB molecule would soon go for first phase clinical trials.The initiative is aimed at developing low-cost drugs for infectious diseases like tuberculosis (TB) and malaria which are generally not in the priority list of big pharmaceutical firms.
Through this, OSDD will set a new milestone by linking researchers across the globe to solve key challenges in developing drugs for tropical diseases like malaria and TB.The project portal provides an open source platform for scientists, doctors, technocrats, software professionals and students to share knowledge. The collaborative approach, started four years ago, is designed to keep the cost of drug discovery low, thereby making the treatment affordable.
Our target is to get into the first phase of the clinical trial of the anti-TB drug molecule in about six months, CSIR Director-General Samir K Brahmachari said.
India accounts for very high incidence of TB with over 1,000 deaths every day. Significantly, no new TB drug has come into market in the last five decades. This is because the major pharmaceutical companies are not interested in a TB drug as it is seen as a poor mans disease and does not fetch them enough money, Brahmachari said.
By 2022, we want to completely eradicate TB from India. With the availability of the new drug, the death rate can be brought down significantly, he said and termed CSIRs initiative unique as it allows the coming together of scientists interested in contributing for developing new drugs.
To increase the popularity of OSDD platform among young people, the CSIR has launched a video competition on YouTube. It is also collaborating for developing anti-malarial drug and the initiative got good support from the EU and Australia, Brahmachari said.
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