“All DRF scientists engaged in generic (off-patent) oncology drug development business have been shifted to Dabur Pharma. DRF will now focus purely on drug discovery programmes,” DRF Chairman Anand Burman said. He declined to divulge the details of the ongoing collaborative research programmes due to confidentiality clauses, but hinted that at least one research is in the area of oncology.

According to him, continuing drug research, even after selling off their drug company, makes sense as DRF has been fashioned as an independent research entity.

While over 100 scientists moved out of DRF to be part of the research team of Dabur Pharma, majority of other scientists conducting research in areas like Ayurveda, Phytopharma, biotechnology, personal care products and food were shifted from DRF to Dabur India’s in-house research wing. DRF is now left with its drug discovery scientists and pursues at least three drug discovery programmes in collaboration with foreign universities and companies.

Though the Dabur Pharma website lists out the contract research services offered by DRF, Burman said the promoters are yet to take a final view on the future research programmes of DRF.

Fresenius, which closed Dabur acquisition on August 11, has acquired the rights for all existing products that have come out of DRF. “All discoveries that have been commercialized have gone to Fresenius, besides the patented nanotechnology-based drug delivery system and the entire team of scientists engaged in generic drug discovery research at DRF. Fresenius will continue at the same location for a short period,” Burman said.

Himalaya will study herbs and plants in specific regions to understand therapeutic benefits and differences in therapeutic properties of herbs across regions; prepare joint research projects; while UAS will assist in training of farmers to promote better agricultural practices, study and documentation of rare, endangered herbs; facilitate joint research projects on tissue culture of rare and endangered herbs and assist Himalaya in setting up a herb garden that will be a centre for national and international research activities.

In addition, UAS will provide training to farmers under Himalaya’s contract farming Programme, assist Himalaya in setting up a botanical garden which would serve as a centre for national and international research activities and provide technical assistance and education to Himalaya scientists as the company moves towards its process of organic certification.

Dr S K Mitra, Executive Director (R&D), The Himalaya Drug Company said, “With the world moving towards all things natural, herbal health care is being embraced like never before. The possibility of discovering remedies through augmented botanical research that will help people live richer, fuller and healthier lives is surely something to look forward to.”

“UAS is one of the country’s most revered research institutions and is equipped with the necessary skills and facilities to assist Himalaya in its research. The partnership will facilitate knowledge transfer, resource sharing, training and exchange of ideas. The focus will be on taking research out of the lab and into the market. We believe this collaboration will help us take research on herbs and plants to new levels,” added Dr Mitra.

Responding, Dr Chengappa, Vice Chancellor, UAS, said, “UAS and Himalaya share a common passion for scientific study and research of herbs. Through this partnership we would like to promote research that will have practical application – either in the way of developing new products or promoting better farming practices, or adding to the knowledge system of herbs and plants. It also opens up opportunities for our students to engage with a company involved in advanced herbal research and understand what drives research and development outside of an academic environment.”

“Our partnership with Himalaya is a step towards fostering greater collaboration between industry and university with the objective of making research more result-driven and effective,” said Dr T K Prabhakara Setty, director of research, UAS.

As part of the agreement, the scientific representatives of Himalaya and UAS will regularly review the findings and results, perform critiques and make plans and recommendations. The research findings will be tried on farmers’ fields through farm trials and demonstrations with the active participation of UAS and Himalaya’s agro-technology division. Research findings, as a result of this collaborative work, will be published in journals with joint authorship.