For life sciences industries and research organizations that utilize any biological resource from India for research, commercial or other purposes, awareness and regulatory compliance with India’s Biological Diversity (BD) Act, 2002 could mean the difference between success and failure.

Blockchain technology is a distributed add-only digital ledger shared among peer-to-peer networks. The digital asset to be stored in the digital ledger is verified and recorded irretrievably in a chronological order. The distributed nature and the verification process ensure the immutability and authenticity of the recorded digital assets.

The US patent application numbered US20180046766 with Novus Paradigm Technologies Corp as the assignee discloses systems and methods for biomedical data tracking and transmission through blockchain technology. This technology is particularly relevant for secure transmission of biomedical data during disease outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics since accuracy and timeliness is critical to contain the epidemic and the data would be vital for further studies on the epidemic.

We are pleased to share an article on the prevailing Bt cotton patent dispute between Monsanto and Nuziveedu jointly authored by Mr. Bhagirath Choudhary, the founder director of the South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC), New Delhi and Dr. Usharani that is published in the renowned IP blog SpicyIP. Please check our previous article for a background on the dispute. This article is in response to a post by National Seed Association of India (NSAI) on the Delhi High Court Judgement regarding this dispute. It is to be noted that NSAI’s president is Mr. Prabhakar Rao of Nuziveedu Seeds.

Monsanto, a US based Agriculture Company, well known for its genetically modified crops, lost its rights to Indian patent no: 214436 for a genetically modified cotton technology following a Delhi High Court Division bench order issued on 11th April 2018.

Microfluidics is an interdisciplinary technology that integrates diverse fields such as Engineering, Physics, Chemistry and Life sciences. It is the science of flow of fluids in micro or nano liter range through micro-scale channels and the technology of fabrication of devices having such micro-scale channels.

Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (PAGE) is widely used in Life Sciences research for separation of biomolecules such as DNA, RNA and proteins for further characterization. Under denaturing conditions, where detergents like SDS are employed, the separation is based on size.

Fluopyram, a pyridyl-ethyl benzamide derivative, is a broad spectrum synthetic fungicide developed by the Bayer group. Fluopyram is effective against white mold, gray mold, powdery mildew, apple scab and other fungal diseases. It further exhibits nematicidal properties in various crops.

Interleukins are cytokines that act as immunomodulatory agents and are implicated in a variety of autoimmune inflammatory diseases. Interleukin-23 (IL-23), considered to be involved in the differentiation of T helper type 17 cells, is a principal molecule in autoimmunity and is an important drug target molecule for the treatment of many auto immune inflammatory diseases.

Collagen, well-known as an anti-aging supplement, is an extracellular structural protein found in the connective tissues of bones, tendons, ligaments, cornea, cartilage, skin, intervertebral disc etc. Collagen fibrils are made up of triple helical units that are assembled together.