Thiruvananthapuram: An anti cancer anti-inflamatory drug conjugated to the human serum Albumin has been developed by the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST). This combination is the first of its kind as human albumin.
According to media reports it is a mix of human serum albumin and a plant-based drug, and is an intravenous delivery system. It also enables 100 fold increase in drug bio-availability.
The drug has been proved anti-inflamatory after conducting initial animal trials but the clinical trials will take some time as it has to be done in various stages. It has been reported that the trials will be undertaken by the company.
Clinical trials in humans have to be completed and results assessed as the ensuing steps towards commercialisation. The institute has also developed the technology of isothermal based DNA amplification device to detect TB bacterium in sputum samples in less than 30 minutes.
According to reports, 2-3 million people are infected with Tuberculosis and the prevalence of totally drug resistant TB (TDR-TB) is very high in our country. In order to detect TB, a nucleic acid amplification technique is used in the screening device and it is detected in about just 30 minutes. The major plus point is that this method has high specificity without any false positives. 20 patient samples can simultaneously be screened at a considerably lower cost. Existing devices costs approx Rs 2,500/ sample. A patent application for this technology has been filed by the institute.