Pondicherry University gets Rs 5 crore to build centre for toxicology

PUDUCHERRY: The drug and pharmaceutical research programme of the department of science and technology (DST) has sanctioned 4.98 crore grant to the department of biotechnology, Pondicherry University to set up a national facility for toxicological studies of Indian system of medicine (ISM) drugs.
The DST sanctioned the grant after Pondicherry University professor (biotechnology) A Hannah Rachel Vasanthi submitted a proposal in this regard.The DST will fund the proposal for a period of three years for establishing a state of the art facility to undertake preclinical studies to test drugs from Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani systems of medicines under one roof.
The facility will be the first of its kind in Puducherry and will meet the requirements of the industries, research organization and medical schools in South India.
The facility will also boost the university's contribution to the field of regulatory toxicology and analytical testing and research of ISM drugs.
Pondicherry University vice-chancellor Gurmeet Singh congratulated Vasanthi and the department of biotechnology for bagging the grant. He assured that the university will allocate a separate building to house the national facility for toxicological studies.