Most of us remember the kind of excitement we felt when working on science projects in our high school days! Our imagination went wild and we enjoyed the thrill of being part of a creative experiment. We believed we'd grow up to become doctors, scientists, astronomers, physicists and the like- in other words we'd make a difference to the world and to its people!

At Himalaya we still feel the same adrenaline rush while researching nature through science. Our excitement is further enhanced because we know that each new discovery contributes towards giving people a better, healthier and more fulfilling life. We have made high-science part of our philosophy and that is why we are ever so keen to learn about a new development in the scientific world.

It is with this enthusiasm that we recently chaired a conference on 'Targeted Drug Delivery System', organized by M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bangalore. The objective of the session was to provide information to students of science and biotechnology all over Karnataka about the developments in software technology, which will have a positive impact on drug development.

Representing Himalaya at the event, Dr. Mitra, Head- R&D, stated that, "Biomedical engineering and pure science should go hand in hand. Biologists must work together with technocrats, since the former know about concepts while the latter are experts in design. By building effective linkages between the two, the benefits for patients will be immense."

He added," With better software systems and automation, the process of drug discovery and development can be simplified. Moreover, research will be more accurate and drugs will be safer and more effective."

A senior official from GE spoke about the software tool being developed by the company, which will assist in the process of targeted drug delivery. Presently, the process of drug development involves isolating a molecule and then identifying the fraction, which 'could possibly' be responsible for the therapeutic effect. The fractions are then randomly checked for their therapeutic effect through in vivo and in vitro studies. This is then followed by toxicity studies. The process of drug discovery is thus time consuming and expensive.

What the new software will do is reduce the time taken to develop drugs- from the actual conceptualization to the final drug development-by guiding researchers in the process of isolating target-specific molecules. The science behind this computer aided drug delivery system rests on developing computer tools to simulate the bimolecular structure of the human cell along with its actions & reactions and map the drug molecule onto this. If there is a 'perfect fit' or affinity between the two, it will indicate that the drug will probably produce the desired therapeutic effect. This will enable researchers to isolate only the lead molecules for drug screening and clinical trials thus considerably reducing time for drug development.

In a concluding statement, Dr. Mitra added," Seminars like this are extremely beneficial for both the scientific and academic community. Since Himalaya believes in investing in state-of-the-art equipment, we welcome technology which will help us develop protocols to make drug screening easier."