CSIR lab in second licensing deal with US pharma company

Bangalore: Chandigarh-based Institute of Microbial Technology, or Imtech, a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, or CSIR, has licensed a new drug molecule to the US’ Nostrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $3 million (about Rs15 crore).

Imtech will make a formal announcement on Monday, disclosing the terms of the deal, but its director Girish Sahni finds it’s creditworthy that his lab could strike the deal in an economic slowdown and in an environment where pharma companies “do not want to pick up molecules from Indian laboratories”.
The CSIR lab and New Jersey-based Nostrum have an association going back to July 2006 when the US firm obtained worldwide technology licensing rights from Imtech for a clot-busting therapeutic protein for $20 million.
Considered as signalling a paradigm change in the way government labs worked, that agreement also led, for the first time for any Indian lab, to the “incubation of that molecule” in Imtech. “We have learnt a lot working with Nostrum on that molecule which is progressing well and is being tested on monkeys in the US,” said Sahni.
This time, the discovery is about a novel bioactivity of Caerulomycin A, a known compound with antibiotic properties. In the new form, which is derived from a microbe, Caerulomycin has shown promise in so-called immunosuppression of T and B cells in both lab studies and in animal (rodent) models. The white blood cells called T and B cells are the protective cells that attack any foreign entity entering the human body.
This property of the compound, says Sahni, makes it a potentially good candidate for drugs that prevent organ transplant rejection as well as those used in autoimmune disorders. Autoimmune disorders, including type I diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, are diseases where the body reacts against some of its own tissue and produces antibodies to attack itself.
While the clot-busting protein was the first proprietary recombinant DNA-based biopharmaceutical molecule licensed to an overseas company by any government institution, Caerulomycin is the first “small” molecule (used in regular drugs) to be licensed, say Imtech scientists.
The new molecule will be developed through traditional chemical synthesis. Imtech has a pipeline of 15-20 other molecules, which it is trying to improve to get advance derivatives in areas such as oncology and human antibodies.
“We are also looking for new compounds in the microbial diversity,” says Sahni, who thinks this deal would encourage other labs to commercialize their discoveries.
In recent past, CSIR has been making a serious attempt to derive monetary value out of its intellectual property. Director general Samir K. Brahmachari says even though CSIR is ahead of many public-funded institutions in the world in terms of the percentage of technology transferred to industry, it still has to achieve more in the area. “The amount of money realization is low but we are working on that.”
Courtesy : Livemint.com

Speed Clearing – Frequently Asked Questions(RBI)

Question 1	What is Speed Clearing ?
Answer	Speed Clearing refers to collection of outstation cheques through the local clearing. It facilitates collection of cheques drawn on outstation core-banking-enabled branches of banks, if they have a net-worked branch locally.
Question 2	Why Speed Clearing ?
Answer	As of now, outstation cheques are paid through two channels viz. on Collection basis or through National Clearing (Inter-city Clearing). This requires movement of cheques from the Presentation centre (city where the cheque is presented) to Drawee centre (city where the cheque is payable) which elongates the realisation time for cheques. Speed Clearing aims to reduce the time taken for realisation of outstation cheques.
Question 3	What is “Collection basis” ?
Answer	A person who has an outstation cheque with him deposits it with his bank’s branch. It is called Presenting branch. This cheque is sent for collection to the city where it is payable / drawn called Destination centre or Drawee centre. The branch providing the collection service at the Destination centre is called Collecting branch. On receipt of the cheque, the Collecting branch presents it in local clearing to the Drawee branch or the Destination branch. Once the cheque is paid the Collecting branch remits the proceeds to the Presenting branch. On receipt of realisation advice of the cheque from the Collecting branch, the customer’s account is credited. This, in short, is the process of Collection. When a cheque is taken on Collection basis by a bank, it credits the customer’s account after realisation. Alternatively, in the absence of a collection arrangement at the Destination centre, the Presenting branch will send the cheque directly to the Destination branch for payment.
Question 4	How long does it take for getting credit of an outstation cheque sent (i) on Collection basis and through (ii) National Clearing (Inter-city Clearing) ?
Answer	Generally, it takes around a week to three weeks time to get outstation cheques realised through Collection basis. In case of National Clearing, it takes around a week's time. National Clearing is an arrangement under which the Clearing Houses managed by RBI provide inter-city cheque collection service to member banks of those Clearing Houses.
Question 5	Is National Clearing available in all cities ?
Answer	No. It is available at fifteen cities viz. Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna and Thiruvananthapuram.
Question 6	How does the Local Cheque Clearing work ?
Answer	In Local Cheque Clearing in 61 major centres, cheques are processed at the Clearing Houses on mechanical sorters, using Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) technology. Local Clearing handles only those cheques that are drawn on branches within the jurisdiction of the local Clearing House. Generally, the distance between the Clearing House and the participating branches is defined, taking into account the local transportation and communication facilities as the cheques have to physically move to and from the Clearing House. For example, for a cheque to be processed in Local Clearing in Mumbai, both the presenting and drawee branches should be within the jurisdiction of the Clearing House in Mumbai.
Question 7	How does the Speed Clearing work ?
Answer	Banks have networked their branches by implementing Core Banking Solutions (CBS). In CBS environment, cheques can be paid at any location obviating the need for their physical movement to the Drawee branch. The concept Speed Clearing combines the advantages of MICR clearing with CBS. Cheques drawn on outstation CBS branches of a Drawee bank can be processed in the Local Clearing under the Speed Clearing arrangement if the Drawee bank has a branch presence at the local centre.
Question 8	When will the beneficiary get funds under Speed Clearing ?
Answer	As on date, the local cheques are processed on T+1 working day basis and customers get the benefit of withdrawal of funds on a T+1 or 2 basis. 'T' denotes transaction day viz. date of presentation of cheque at the Clearing House. So, the outstation cheques under Speed Clearing will also be paid on T+1 or 2 basis.
Question 9	How is Speed Clearing an improvement over National Clearing ?
Answer	In case of National Clearing the cheque is realised in around a week's time. Under the Speed Clearing, it would be realised on T+1 or 2 basis viz. within 48 hours. National Clearing is restricted to cheques drawn on the specified locations. Speed Clearing has no geographical limitation. Cheques drawn on any location may be cleared as long as the branch is in CBS. National Clearing necessitates movement of the cheque to the Drawee centre. Speed Clearing facilitates the clearing of such cheques locally without the need to move the cheques to the Drawee centre.
Question 10	Which are the centres where Speed Clearing is presently available ?
Answer	Speed Clearing is currently available in 41 MICR centres.
Question 11	What about charges for cheques cleared through Speed Clearing ?
Answer	Presenting branches are currently permitted to levy charges at a rate not exceeding Rs.150 per cheque (inclusive of all charges other than Service Tax) for cheques of above Rs. 1 lakh presented through Speed Clearing.

SEBI, IRDA flout norms on surplus funds: CAG

New Delhi, Feb. 21 The capital market and insurance sector regulators — Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) — are flouting Finance Ministry instructions by parking their surplus funds generated through fee charges, penalties, among other things outside the Government accounts.

This has been stated by the Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report on the Union Government accounts for 2007-08. The CAG had in its earlier reports also highlighted that SEBI and IRDA practice on parking of surplus funds were inconsistent with constitutional provisions.

As at end March 2008, sums aggregating to Rs 1,325.49 crore were parked outside the Government accounts. Of the Rs 1,325.49 crore, SEBI’s share stood at Rs 987.95 crore, with the balance Rs 337.54 crore relating to IRDA.

Issuing directions

The CAG report for the Union Government accounts 2007-08 said the Finance Ministry had in January 2005 directed all ministries and departments of the Government to ensure that funds of regulatory bodies are maintained in the Public Account.

“Retention of funds by IRDA and SEBI outside government accounts is not only violative of government instructions, but is also inconsistent with the Constitutional provisions,” the CAG has said.

These bodies have been established by Acts of Parliament and are to be treated as “State” within the meaning of the expression used in Article 12 of the Constitution of India. The monies collected by these bodies, therefore, should be credited to the Government account under Article 266 of the Constitution of India, according to CAG.

While IRDA was specifically directed earlier by the Finance Ministry in July 2002 to deposit its funds in the Public Account, the CAG report noted that no such specific direction has been issued to SEBI despite their continued violation of the Government’s instructions.

The CAG has said the retention of funds by IRDA and SEBI outside government accounts is also not consistent with the accounting procedure followed by other similarly placed independent regulatory bodies such as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which are maintaining their accounts as part of the Government accounts.

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