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Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurates ‘Atal National Colloquium on Healthcare and Innovation

Celebrates 70th Annual Day Celebrations of CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow

Union Minister Health & Family Welfare, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences and Vice President CSIR, Dr Harsh Vardhan recently inaugurated ‘Atal National Colloquium on Healthcare and Innovation’, a series of lectures from highly eminent persons, to commemorate Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s vision and support for ‘Vigyan’ and CSIR-CDRI. He also inaugurated ‘Common Research and Technology Development Hub (CRTDH)’ supported jointly by DSIR and CSIR online.

The objectives of the CRTDH are:

(1) To set up and operate a Pharmaceutical Formulation Development and National Clinical Trial Batch Production Facility and

(2) To establish and operate a Unit for GLP-compliant Pre-clinical and Clinical Bioanalysis (PK, BA, BE) and Drug Testing (DTL). It will be helpful for Clinical Trial Centers, Pharma Industry, MSME and Academia for advance research.

On this occasion, a new technology developed by the research team of Dr Atul Goel, for Fluorescent Dyes (CDRI-KD1, CDRI-KD1Az3) and Quenchers (CDRI-KQ3, CDRI-KQ4) for the development of RT-PCR based diagnostic kits was transferred to Biotech Desk Pvt Ltd. (BDPL), Hyderabad. The Director, Professor Tapas Kumar Kundu said that this technology of fluorescent dyes and quenchers will not only furnish the indigenous COVID testing kit but also it is on the path of the government initiatives towards ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

Dr Harsh Vardhan also released the CSIR-CDRI Annual Report 2020-21; CSIR-CDRI @ 70 Souvenir and a Coffee Table Book on the occasion. 

Later, the 46th Sir Edward Mellanby Memorial Oration was delivered by Dr Shekhar C Mande on ‘Dealing with Infectious Diseases.’ His oration was focused on ways to counter infectious diseases with new approaches. The complexity of the problem of disease prevention can be better addressed if we can integrate evolutionary biology with traditional biomedical research, he said.

The prestigious CDRI Awards-2021 for Excellence in Drug Research were also announced on the occasion. These awards will be conferred on CSIR’s Foundation Day in September this year. The prestigious CDRI Awards 2021 for Excellence in Drug Research in Chemical Sciences category has been awarded to Dr Vishal Rai, Associate Professor, IISER, Bhopal. In Life Sciences category, Dr Siddhesh Shashikant Kamat, Associate Professor, IISER, Pune and Dr Chandrima Das, Associate Professor, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata have been selected for the CDRI Awards 2021. Also announced were Annual Incentive awards for best technology, Patents& Publications and AcademicCareer Achievement Awards-2021.

Union Minister Health & Family Welfare, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences and Vice President CSIR, Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “CSIR- Central Drug Research Institute(CDRI) has championed the cause of affordable drugs and has given the world breakthrough molecules like Centchroman (first non-steroidal oral contraceptive) and Arteether (a life-saving drug for cerebral malaria) amongst others. He was addressing the 70th Annual Day celebrations of CSIR-CDRI, Lucknow through video-conferencing in New Delhi. 

“The contribution of the Institute has been immense, not only in terms of drugs it gave to humankind in terms of quality fundamental research and human resource development,” he said.

Secretary DSIR and DG CSIR, Dr Shekhar C Mande; Professor Sandeep Verma, Secretary, Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB); DST, Director CSIR-CDRI, Professor Tapas Kundu and other dignitaries joined the event online.

Congratulating the scientists of the Institute on the occasion, Dr Vardhan highlighted that CSIR-CDRI with its talented team participated in the fight against COVID-19 through its multi-pronged approach. 

In his opening remark, Director CSIR-CDRI, Professor Tapas Kundu briefed about the achievements of Institute in the reporting year. He highlighted that in terms of measurable performance, the institute has made, significant accomplishments in the year 2020. As per the provisional data, a total of 218 research papers have been published by the institute researchers with an average impact factor of 3.66. The institute has filed eight patents in India and has been granted five foreign patents and eight Indian patents. A total of 42 PhD scholars submitted their thesis and 15 aspirants have received post-graduate training. During the year, the institute has also initiated a total of 22 externally funded projects including two industry-sponsored projects and 2 consultancy projects.

PIB

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