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NT Bureau
Chennai Jan 5:

        ABL Biotechnologies Ltd (ABL) is all set to inaugurate its R&D facility at Ticel Park that would focus on natural products, nutraceuticals, therapeutics, microbial research and drug discovery.

        Got up at an investment of Rs 25 crore, the 10,000 sq ft laboratory would have a capacity to house 50 scientists to work as full-time staff. Dr T Ramasamy, Union  Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology would formally inaugurate the research facility on 8 January.

        ABL is a technology intensive company with high stakes in bio-manufacturing, identification and isolation of microbial metabolites of marine species for therapeutic value and bioprocess engineering. Over the last few years, ABL has also evolved into a product development and manufacturing company that served a large segment of the Indian pharmaceuticals with many formulations developed in-house.

        'ABL's facility is centred around the enormous poten-tial of Indian biodiversity for the prod-uction of new tools to both fight as well as prevent diseases.

        The targeted marine and terrestrial microbial metabolites find application in the areas of nutrition, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and industrial intermediates in sectors that have consistently recorded a growth rate in excess of

        50 per cent and are expected to maintain the same trend over the next decade,' said K O Issac, chairman and managing director, ABL Biotechnologies Ltd. Drugs and vaccines manufa-ctured by Indian pharmaceutical firms should explore global markets, he said. As a vast reservoir of micro-organisms having medicinal value, the oceans have to be tapped by enterprising drug firms to create new formulations and medicines, he added.

        ABL has taken efforts to harness biodiversity of the Indian marine environment.

        The company had set up a large marine microbial collections with a reference library which formed the basis of its bioactive and drug research programmes.

        ABL has also created infrastructure for the production of metabolites from phototropic organisms at its Tiruchendur plant. As part of its diversification, ABL has set up three divisions — Spectrum for producing complete formulations for the pharma sector; Invia Health for marketing its own therapeutics; and Sanctum Nutrition to focus on FMHG (fast moving health goods) segment.The company has tied up with institutions of advanced research including National Facility for Marine Cyanobacteria at Bharathidasan University, Tiruchi; the National Institute of Oceanography at the Madras University; and Dr ALM Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Chennai.

        Isaac said ABL was focused on finding path-breaking drugs through disease-centric biochemical research to root out various debilitating illnesses and health disorders in the country.

        The new R&D facility at Ticel Park was the first such centre in its domain to receive the accreditation from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research of the

        Union government, claim ABL officials. With this modern laboratory, ABL has targeted to achieve a gross turnover of Rs 500 crore in the next five years.