Oct 1, 2007: The Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology (RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram in the southwestern state of Kerala has been declared as one of the national center for biotechnology research in India. The institute, started by the Kerala state government has been upgraded with more federal funds to spur the growth of biotech research.

RGCB is a state-of-the-art biotechnology institute, which is the only one in the country to focus on translational research. It is working on novel and highly potent drug leads and nutraceuticals and identification of genes and disease variants of significance to pharmacogenomics and molecular medicine as well to plant biodiversity and crop improvement. According to BioSpectrum’s Top 20 Schools survey, published in January 2007, RGCB was ranked the No.1 biotech institute in India. With the current development, the institute now has the mandate to be one of the best biotech research centers in the world.

In an exclusive interview to BioSpectrum, Dr M Radhakrishna Pillai, Director, RGCB, explains the merits of this development and the plans of the institute.

What is your vision for RGCB?
I envision RGCB as an institute with two components as part of the 2020 strategy. One, a state-of-the-art research center nestled close to India’s greatest biodiversity resources in the Western Ghats and located in the center of an ecologically balanced biotech park. Here we will translate our drug development program in close association with biotech and biopharma units located around the research center. We will use our genetic engineering and molecular medicine knowledge to transform and improve medicinal plant-nutraceuticals and spices, all so prevalent in this
biodiversity zone.

The other component would be to convert our present campus into a unique teaching and training center in applied biotechnology. I foresee state-of-the-art academic courses and programs specifically catering to the new industries of healthcare, hospitals, CROs, biotech and biopharma companies. These would include Master’s level courses in clinical biotechnology, molecular medicine and systems biology as well as management degrees in biotechnology. In addition, we see ourselves as a major training center for the huge number of BTech and MSc Biotechnology graduates who come out every year with poor foundations in molecular and clinical biology.

What would it mean for RGCB being accorded the status of an autonomous institute under the administrative control of DBT?
The Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Mr Kapil Sibal, very aptly summarized the implications of RGCB becoming a national institute. Speaking to the media after formally announcing the Union Cabinet’s decision of taking over RGCB by Government of India, he said, “RGCB is an institute that has been doing very well nationally. We will now take this center to international levels.”

I now have no limits to the dreams and plans for RGCB. I would like it to be different from other similar institutions. Our strength is in the wealth of knowledge bases that we have in biological and chemical sciences. Kerala is best known for its excellent knowledge wealth, but has been unable to translate this into commercial rewards. What we would like to do is to bridge this gap by really doing what we do best—translating our biotech knowledge into healthcare requirements and better quality medicinal plants, nutraceuticals and spices.

What would be the mandate for RGCB now?
Our mandate is to conduct interdisciplinary collaborative research with industry and clinical centers in translational research aimed at the rapid translation of scientific discoveries from our lab to the benefit of society. RGCB’s expertise in the areas of cancer research, pharmocogenetics, protein engineering, molecular reproduction, infectious diseases, neuro and stem cell biology and plant genetic engineering biology will be integrated for achievement of this main goal. This achievement is also expected to promote the growth of biotech industries in Kerala. 

We have as our major objective a National Drug Development Center working based on the extensive traditional Indian medicine practice and the extensive biodiversity resources available in Kerala. We will use these two sources in combination with modern biology, bioprospecting with a matrix of systems and computational biology to develop this unique drug development program. Our research to date has given us sound models for analyzing bioactive compounds including transgenic cell lines, in vitro models for neuron damage, tumor stem cells and hepatitis C besides numerous targets in cancer and tuberculosis. These will be the base on which we will take our drug development to high throughput automated levels.

We will also promote high quality biotechnology education at postgraduate, doctoral and postdoctoral level and act as a nodal contract research centre for carrying forward research leads in bioprospecting and drug screening from pharmaceutical industries and R& D centers.

What are the major achievements of RGCB till date?
Investigators at the Regional Cancer Centre and Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Thiruvananthapuram have developed an anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial mouthwash consisting of three commonly used medicinal herbs for controlling radiation associated mucositis (painful swelling of the gums and cheek) in patients being treated with radiation therapy for oral cancer.

We have also developed diagnostic techniques for infectious diseases such as dengue fever, Chikungunya, HCV, cholera and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, DNA fingerprinting-based diagnostics including HLA typing. Further, protocols for value addition to medicinal plants like Baccopa monniera (Brahmi) and Andrographis paniculata have also been developed successfully.

We have also established facilities for molecular diagnostics and DNA finger printing to cater to social and criminal justice systems as well as diagnostic and health needs of the society as a spin-off of the research activities of RGCB, besides developing novel cell-based assays for screening compounds for anticancer, antiviral and neuroprotective activities.

Can you briefly tell us about the infrastructure and other facilities available at RGCB?
We currently have over 1,50,000 sft of prime laboratory space. The institute has all state-of-the-art equipment for modern biology research including flow cytometers, real time PCRs, MALDI TOF, Protein sequencer and synthesizer, 46 capillary DNA sequencer, electron microscope, confocal microscope, HPLCs, GC-MS, Pulse field gel systems besides all routine molecular biology equipment. The institute also has a start-up animal research facility and transgenic green house.

Discussions are on to transfer some of the patented technologies from RGCB for commercial applications.

An incubation facility will be established at RGCB to cater to the needs of biotechnology industries. Infrastructural and technical expertise of RGCB will be made available to both established and small or start-up industries to enable them to become more competitive in the generation of biotechnology-based products and process.