Union Budget 2023: Opening ICMR labs is big boost to medical research, says expert

Former World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist and ex-Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Soumya Swaminathan, said that the government making ICMR labs available for research to the public and private medical college faculty as well as private sector R & D teams is a win-win situation for everybody.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, former WHO chief scientist and ex-Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has reacted to the union budget 2023 announcement that facilities in the select ICMR labs will be made available for research by public & private medical college faculty and private sector R&D teams for encouraging collaborative research and innovation. She said that it is a win-win situation for everybody.

“It is a good idea as many of our government laboratories have a lot of infrastructure which may not be available at medical colleges or smaller research institutions. At the same time, ICMR labs may not be fully utilising the equipment. So, sharing the facilities will not only ensure the efficiency of use but also maximise the use of expensive equipment and allow smaller institutions to access the latest technology. This will then build capacity among students and young faculty in those organisations and encourage some collaborations. There are people visiting laboratories and while interacting with each other could find common areas of interest that could lead to either public-public or public-private collaborations. This can then accelerate research,” she said, as reported by Indian Express.

Dr Swaminathan highlighted that the private sector also includes smaller start-ups and biotech firms which may not find it cost-effective to set up biosafety laboratories — level 3 and 4 (BSL-3 /BSL-4) — or even high-end machines like sequencers and others for cutting-edge technology. ICMR’s role is hence important as not only will it conduct research but also promote and support it.

“This is an important announcement on several ICMR institutions working with the private sector on the public health needs of the country and not on just the needs of the industry,” said Dr Balram Bhargava, former DG ICMR. 

“The agenda of the private sector can be slightly different but once they are married in such a way, then the agenda becomes of public health importance for the nation. Yes, there will be a profit spin-off for companies. But this can be done in a very transparent manner like how it was done for COVID testing facilities, Covid vaccination and vaccines with expression of interest, tender process and inviting those companies which wanted to make them,” added Dr Bhargava.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan took charge as chairperson of M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) on February 1.

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