IP transfer agreements with industries, one on a molecule that could be a potential drug candidate for dementia, and the other related to a robust, mobile group oxygen concentrator that can be used in remote settings and deployed in emergencies, were signed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) with industries.
An autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, JNCASR signed the agreements to transfer the two technologies from its research initiatives to industries on the eve of ‘Technology Day 2022’.
According to a release, T Govindaraju, a scientist at the JNCASR, and his team have developed the molecule that could be a potential drug candidate to halt or cure the leading cause of dementia in 70 to 80% cases worldwide. This research work was patented and published in the journal Advanced Therapeutics and patented by the JNCASR. The research aimed to design and synthesise molecules that can reduce the toxicity of amyloid peptide — that accumulates in the central nervous system, it said.
According to the JNCASR, as per studies, Alzheimer’s will soon be one of the top diseases in the country, and currently available treatments provide only temporary relief, and there are no approved drugs that directly act on the mechanisms of the disease. This molecule addresses the unmet need to develop drug candidates to halt or cure the disease, it said.
Hamsa Biopharma India Pvt. Ltd., a company based in Delhi, indicated its interest to further develop the drug based on a licence agreement.
Another research group at the JNCASR, led by S.V. Diwakar, has designed a robust, mobile group oxygen concentrator that can be used in rural settings and also rapidly deployed in emergencies in any location. Named ‘OxyJani’, the multi-group initiative of Dr . Diwakar, Meher Prakash, and Santosh Ansumali from the JNCASR, and collaborators, Arvind Rajendran from the University of Alberta and Arun Kumar from Eiwave Digitech executed it with the help of Ritwik Das, an MS student.
