Excelsior Correspondent
New Delhi, Aug 17: The constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTech), today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the global multinational healthcare company, Johnson & Johnson Private Limited.
The event was presided over by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science and Technology & Earth Sciences and Vice President, CSIR.
Dr Girish Sahni, Director General, CSIR and Secretary, DSIR briefed about CSIR R&D efforts on the occasion, while Dr Paul Stoffels, Chief Scientific Officer of Johnson & Johnson was present on the occasion.
Director of CSIR-IMTech, Dr Anil Koul was also present at the MoU signing ceremony.
CSIR-IMTech is a national center for excellence in microbial Sciences and Technology.
The MoU between CSIR-IMTech and Johnson and Johnson will enable collaborative research and facilitate scientists from both organizations working together on a R&D program to explore potentially more effective, safer, all-oral treatment regimens to tackle multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), as well as new molecular entities to treat TB patients.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, on the occasion said that India has about one fourth of the global TB burden and sustained Research & Development efforts are needed to tackle this global scourge. He appreciated CSIR’s efforts for pursuing cutting edge R&D in diverse domains, in particular for the affordable health care.
Dr. Girish Sahni, DG, CSIR said that the collaboration resonates with the Government of India’s mission of ‘Swasth Bharat’ (Healthy India) and ‘Make in India’ especially for new drug discovery and development.
Elaborating on the contours of the MoU, Director, CSIR-IMTech, Dr Anil Koul said that collaboration with companies like Johnson & Johnson will bring a paradigm shift in drug discovery approaches for TB in India, where CSIR-IMTech will provide microbiology and medicinal chemistry expertise and Johnson & Johnson will provide its preclinical resources and drug development support.
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