Pune: India which is surging towards becoming the leading country in having maximum diabetes patients now has a ray of hope. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) scientist Srinivasa Reddy has been successful in controlling diabetes in the mice with the help of a synthesis molecule.
“The clinical trials have been successful,” he said while talking to Sakal Times. Reddy said, “We have identified a molecule which can keep the sugar levels in the permissible limits. We have successfully conducted a few trials on mice.”
"For this diabetes trial, we had collaborated with Shantani Proteomics. We have to collaborate with biologists for trials on animals. The data so far collected from the research is interesting and we are further developing it,” he said.
Reddy said, “I am working in the area of total synthesis of biologically active natural products and medicinal chemistry using 'silicon incorporation approach'. Macrocyclic natural compounds and silicon incorporation in known drug scaffolds with an ultimate aim of discovering drugs are the special interests.”
Meanwhile, his research group has done a total synthesis of more than 25 natural products along with the biological activities. A few recent achievements included identification of potential leads in an antibiotic compound based on a hunanamycin natural product for treating food infections, an anti-diabetic molecule in collaboration with an industry partner and anti-TB compound using a strategy called 'repurposing of a drug scaffold'.
Reddy received the prestigious 'Sun Pharma Research Award' in the field of Pharmaceutical Sciences recently by Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Prof Vishwajit Nimgaonkar, University of Pittsburgh, the USA at a function held in India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.
A man with a mission
Reddy was graduated and received his master's degree in Organic Chemistry from Osmania University. He joined Prof Goverdhan Mehta’s lab at University of Hyderabad for doctoral studies and received PhD in 2000. After the post doctoral work at the laboratories of Sergey A Kozmin of the University of Chicago and Jeffrey Aubé of University of Kansas, USA, he worked in pharmaceutical companies in India prior joining NCL.
Reddy has 35 patents on his name and is the recipient of prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in chemical sciences. Other recognitions include 'CDRI Award' for excellence in drug discovery research, 'CRSI Bronze Medal' in chemical science, 'NASI-Reliance Industries Platinum Jubilee Award' for application-oriented innovations in physical sciences, 'OPPI Award' for contributions in pharmaceutical sciences to name a few.
