DBT to initiate Rs. 248.6-mn projects for new antibiotics

New Delhi: The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has initiated a Rs 24.86 crore network project for screening of bio-molecules from microbial diversity in different ecological niches, in response to the growing demand for new and more effective antibiotics.

The demand more effective antibiotics is growing particularly due to the increase in bacterial resistance to antibiotics. In 2005, worldwide sales of oral antibiotics totaled $ 25 billion, including US sales of $ 8.5 billion ($ 7 billion for adults and $ 1.5 billion for children). The market for antibiotics is seen growing at a fast pace with adult and pediatric prescriptions growing at 8.5% and 10.8% respectively.

Briefing mediapersons in New Delhi on Friday, the Union Science and Technology Minister, Kapil Sibal said that the the Rs 24.86 crore project initiated by DBT will involve nine institute with NPIL Research and Development Ltd (NRDL) as an industrial partner. The DBT would contribute Rs 17.98 crore while NRDL would contribute Rs 17.98 crore.

The project envisages a mega scale screening programme for various environmental isolates. This is the first project in the country where industry and academia will work together to screen such a large number of bacterial isolates. Different academic institutes will isolate organisms specific to diverse ecological niches. For each sample, isolation of bacteria will be carried out on 30 different growth media.

This multi-institutional effort will generate approximately 7000 isolates per month (~1000 per institute), which will be regularly sent to NRDL. Screening will be carried out for anti-cancer, anti-infective, anti-diabetes and anti-inflammation properties. In addition to culture dependent method, the culture independent approach will also be taken up for a few selected samples.

The project will lead to selection of potential candidate molecules, which will be taken to process scale-up strategies with appropriate partners. The credit sharing in this project amongst the PI and industry has been mutually worked out and an agreement has been signed on 22nd February 2008 in the presence of Sibal.

A separate microbial repository will be set up at National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune to maintain the 2,00,000 isolates generated under this project. This would be the largest such facility in the country and would confirm to International Depository Authority (IDA) standards.

Sibal also informed that the method for diagnosis of tuberculosis by smear microscopy, culture and polymerase chain reaction using processed clinical samples and kit thereof' developed by the Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences.