Srinagar, Nov 1: A Kashmiri scientist has applied for a patent in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for the development of an effective herbal drug for treatment of sickle cell disease.
 Hailing from north Kashmir’s Sopore town, Showkat Ahmad Patni has applied for the patent under International Application No. PCT/IN2010/000840 in the organization after working on the medicine for almost six years with other scientists at the Unijules Life Sciences Limited, Nagpur, Maharashtra.
 According to the application submitted to the WIPO on 22-12-2010, besides Showkat Ahmad Patni, the other inventors of the medicine include: Vinod Domaji, Virendra Sukhadeo, Anwar Siraj, Jayant Janrao and Milind Pandurang.
 Talking to Greater Kashmir over phone, Showkat said the invention of the drug was actually inspired by a study carried out by his team in Vidhrabha region of Nagpur. “The Vidhrabha area remains affected by the sickle cell disease. Our aim was to rid the area of the disease, so we came up with the medicine,” he said.
 Asked whether any government or scientific agency has validated the medicine, the researcher said the drug is yet to be marketed but has been authenticated by Food and Drug Administration, Maharashtra. “Once the patent is accepted, we will market the medicine,” he said. “It shall take almost six years to patent the invention.”
 The scientist said his team started preparation of the drug in 2006. “We have already done clinical tests and we would soon make it available to people.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 1 Nov 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 1 Nov 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 2 Nov 2012 00:00:00 IST