Belagavi ICMR demands BSL-3 lab to develop anti-covid drug

Shreyas HS | Apr 14, 2020, 04:30 IST

ICMR Belagavi is working on a drug to fight Covid-19

Belagavi: The National Institute of Traditional Medicine (NITM), a research facility of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is demanding an upgraded research infrastructure to develop anti-covid drug using traditional wisdom.
Speaking to TOI, NITM-ICMT director Debprasad Chattopadhyay said coronavirus has highlighted gaps in the field of research especially in India. “Research & development of antiviral drugs in India is absolutely nil. While several countries are focusing on developing drugs to battle viruses, no premier virology institutes in India are conducting studies on this arena.”
“India’ traditional wisdom in the horizon of medicines is noteworthy, however, unless these are scientifically proved or validated, they have no value. For this, our traditional knowledge should be subjected to scientific tests for which a great deal of investment is needed. The existing research facilities needs to be upgraded soon,” Chattopadhyay added.
“There is a large scope for developing anti-covid 19 here at NITM, but the government should help establish Biosafety Level -3 (BSL-3) facility. Conducting experiments with the actual coronavirus has to be done in labs certified as BSL-3. It comes with advanced features for the safety of researchers,” he said.
Chattopadhyay, who has worked in the field of virology for nearly two decades, said NITM also needs skilled human resource to work in the BSL-3 facility which he hopes the government will provide. “We need ethnobotanist, microbiologist, clinician, bioinformatics or computer simulators, pharmacologists and others. These are the immediate requirements to the lab, he added.
“Investing in research now will certainly come in handy in future,” he added.