All-out support to scientists for innovations: ICMR chief

The Centre is lending all-out support to the physicians and scientists to build a robust and dynamic ecosystem that promotes innovation within biomedical research. Innovators are being provided comprehensive patent and technology transfer support at every stage of the patent lifecycle, said Union Health Research Secretary and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Dr Rajiv Bahl.

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In Chandigarh to preside over the PGI’s 62nd foundation day on Monday, Dr Bahl, a distinguished physician-scientist specialising in paediatrics and public health, said the ICMR had launched two special programmes with a vision to translate innovative research in the biomedical domain into practical solutions, driving meaningful advancements in public health across India.

“We have launched these programmes to support physicians, scientists for their patent method, also known as a process patent,” the Union Secretary-cum-ICMR chief said, while divulging that the two programmes — Patent Mitra and MedTech Mitra — aim to support strategic and quality patent filings for innovative biomedical research with a vision to advance patent protection and facilitate seamless technology transfer for societal impact and to foster development of affordable and accessible indigenous therapeutics, vaccines and medical devices/in-vitro diagnostics by providing strategic handholding support to innovators for clinical evaluation, regulatory facilitation and uptake of new products.

Sharing his own experience with The Tribune, Dr Bahl, who has been a leading figure in maternal and child health research for over 30 years, said, “I was working in Nalani Institute of Medical Sciences where I did my PhD and worked as a scientist. We were very scared of two things — one, when we got into the idea of doing anything that was beyond our comfort zone of publishing in a medical journal, we would publish it in the Lancet, BNJ or any other journal. Second, when it came to patents, filing, lawyers, it was very difficult. Even more difficult was technology transfer, going to industry, making partnerships and drug controllers. Anything that required a drug controller approval gave you flutters.”

Calling the method patent “too difficult”, Dr Bahl said the ICMR had tried to address these issues through these two initiatives.

“Patent Mitra is an online portal of the ICMR, where anybody who has anything that they think can be patented can apply,” he disclosed, while adding that the ICMR helped the applicant in doing the patentability assessment. “Is it patentable? Does it have something which can be patented? And if it is patentable, then the ICMR will also do the patent filing. So, we have engaged consultant firms for doing the patentability assessment,” he said, while sharing that the ICMR engaged lawyers and 10 leading law firms in this field to be able to file patents. “Any prosecution that is required will also be supported besides maintenance of the patent for up to five years,” he stated.

Urging the innovators to exploit their patents through the technology transfer facilitation, Dr Bahl said the ICMR acted as the broker between people who held technology and those who seeking it.

He said without the industry linkage, it was simply not possible to convert the innovations that would be made into something that patients would be able to use. “So, this Patent Mitra is open to ICMR institutes and grantees,” he informed.

“About a 1,000 patents are filed in health every year and I want that to be 10,000 in the next three years. The idea is if we do more of patenting, we will probably have more technology that we can transfer and more new products that we can make,” the Health Research Secretary said, while adding that MedTech was an end-to-end process of hand building and support.

***Health tech assessment

The Union Department of Health Research has opened a health technology assessment office to set up centres across the country for conducting cost effectiveness analysis and providing those results to the states and to the Centre. “By doing this kind of health technology assessment, which is called an ICER or an incremental cost effectiveness ratio, we are able to then say that how beneficial is A compared to B and how much should we be able to pay or how much can we pay for it to be cost effective,” Dr Bahl shared, while stating that the ICMR also had a centre that frames guidelines for the use of these technologies.