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Nithya Subramanian

New Delhi , Dec. 8

DABUR Research Foundation, part of Dabur Pharma Ltd, has been granted a patent for a strain of yeast, after the Government permitted patenting of micro-organisms in India under the Patents (Second Amendment) Bill, 2002.

Speaking to Business Line, Dr R. Shankaran, Director - Intellectual Property Rights, Dabur Research Foundation, said, "The strain of the yeast will have to be cultured to derive an oncology drug. This is the first ever patent granted for a micro-organism in India since this law came into effect."

"The company has obtained both a product patent for the strain as well as a process patent that protects the manufacturing procedure, thus giving us exclusivity," Dr Shankaran said. He added that Dabur Research Foundation has applied for patents for this strain in the US market as well. The Government has so far granted very few patents for micro-organisms, mainly on direction from courts. Dimminaco A.G., for instance, was given a patent for its invention of a micro organism after the Kolkata High Court directed the Government to do so in January, 2002. After this decision, the Indian Patent Offices did not grant patents for micro-organisms. But with the law permitting patenting of micro-organisms, several private sector companies, including Dr Reddy's Research Foundation, Novo Nordisk, Procter and Gamble, Biocon India, Reliance Life Sciences, Cadila Pharmaceuticals and others have filed applications for fungi, bacteria and viruses.

Dabur Research Foundation, on its part, has been focusing on developing innovative products in the oncology segment. While research is being conducted on new drugs in cancer, it is also working on novel processes for manufacturing generic oncology drug formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients. It has a strong pipeline of 16 new molecules under development.

There is still much debate on whether allowing patenting of micro-organisms in India is a good move or not. While the existing provisions in the Patents Bill permits patenting of certain life-forms in line with the Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement, the industry feels that the term `micro-organism' has not been clearly defined.

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