‘Centre didn’t back key research initiative’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The attempt to develop bioprosthetic heart valve from shark skin has hit a roadblock as the Centre has refused to fund the project, said Dr K M Cherian, chairman of International Centre for Cardiothoracic and Vascular Disease, and chairman of Frontier Lifeline Hospital, Chennai.
After the US and Brazil, India would have been the only manufacturer of bioprosthetic valve, which is cost-effective and durable compared to the available valves.
The research conducted at the biovillage of our institute had found that the shark skin was the best to deal with any kind of pressure and the most durable in the human body.
“We were working on a project to create valves from buffaloes when we found that the skin of a particular shark was the most durable one. We worked on shark skin to substitute pericarditis of buffalo to create valves after finding that shark skin can withstand lot of pressure and will not calcify. We could have provided a valve for less than Rs 20,000,” said Dr Cherian.
“We need financial support from the Union science and technology department to develop 100 prototypes in the first phase and to hand over the technology, which was developed with the support of US agency Georgia Tech, Atlanta. But the Centre had denied us support despite our continuous efforts for the past three years. We submitted the research details in June, 2016 to avail fund under the biotechnology ignition grant scheme of BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council),” said Dr Cherian, who was in the city to attend the Ayush conclave.
Dr Cherian has filed an RTI to find on what grounds the Centre had denied funding for the project. “At present the project is on hold. People who are not experts on the subject are sitting at the helm of affairs of the biotechnology wing of the department, and they don’t understand the need of affordable valves,” he said.