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UB arm gets US patents for 2 bio-products

Our Bureau

BANGALORE, June 23

UB's 100 per cent subsidiary, UB Biotek, has tied up with Astra IDL Ltd to market its newly-patented anti-obesity nutraceutical.

The herbal product, Hydroxycitrisol, extracted from garcinia (kokum), is one of two UB technologies to recently get US patents. It is due to complete clinical tests at AIDL and may hit the market by this year-end, the UB group Chairman, Mr. Vijay Mallya, told a news conference here today.

AIDL is also due to get ayurvedic clearances from the Union Department of Indian Systems of Medicine while the US FDA approval is also pending. The product was developed at the group's research wing, Vittal Mallya Scientific Research Foundation (VMSRF), which focuses on natural nutraceuticals, human insulin, pesticides and other products.

UB is also experimenting the product in its beer to possibly make a `slim beer', he said.

``UB Biotek will commercially exploit all products developed by VMSRF. There is tremendous potential to market these in India and abroad,'' Mr. Mallya said. The range includes CheckMite, a herbal aerosol spray to check house mites; and SoluNeem, the fir st water soluble biopesticide. Many European, South American and other companies have shown interest in these technologies.

Hydroxycitrisol has four Indian and one US patent and the technology can be commercially exploited in some 100 countries covered by the Patent Cooperation Treaty to which India is signatory, the foundation Director (Scientific), Dr. P.V.Subba Rao, said.

CheckMite has also received a US and an Indian patent and has been validated in a London lab. Both Checkmite and SoluNeem are expecting US Environmental Protection Agency clearances.

A snake venom antidote is currently being developed at the foundation. Under a fund from the Department of Biotechnology, it has also developed a kit to identify snake species to make snake bite treatment easier. The kit prototype is being validated at t he AIIMS.