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| CSIR-IIIM hosts Industry–Academia Meet 2026 | | |  Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 12: The CSIR–Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) on Tuesday hosted a two-day Industry–Academia Meet (IAM-2026) in Jammu, bringing together scientists, industry leaders and regulators to accelerate phytopharmaceutical research and strengthen lab-to-market linkages. Aligned with the Viksit Bharat@2047 vision, the meet focuses on building partnerships to convert traditional knowledge and natural product research into evidence-based, commercially viable drugs.
The inaugural session saw participation from senior researchers, pharmaceutical industry representatives and policymakers. The programme also included the release of the Institute Compendium and the signing of MoUs with industry partners.
Padma Shri Prof. V.K. Singh, Institute Chair Professor at IIT Kanpur and Mentor of CSIR-IIIM was the Chief Guest at the inaugural session; Guest of Honour Dr. C.K. Katiyar, former CEO of Emami; CSIR-IIIM Director Dr. Zabeer Ahmed; Er. Abdul Rahim, Chief Scientist & Head of RMBD & IST and Branch Laboratory, Srinagar Branch and Organising Secretary Dr. Qazi Naveed Ahmed, Head, Natural Products and Medicinal Chemistry along with members of the Phytopharmaceutical Mission, CDSCO representatives, industry delegates and academicians from across the country.
Speaking at the opening, Padma Shri Prof. V.K. Singh stressed that institutions must clearly demonstrate value to attract industry collaboration. He underlined that patriotic sentiment alone cannot drive partnerships and said industries engage when research offers practical and economic relevance. Highlighting the importance of natural products in drug discovery, he cited global successes such as artemisinin as examples of nature-based breakthroughs and said platforms like IAM help address regulatory and translational hurdles.
Former CEO of Emami, Dr. C.K. Katiyar described CSIR-IIIM as a heritage institution and recalled its historical role in shaping drug regulation. He emphasised the need to scientifically link traditional knowledge with chemistry and pharmacology and called for stronger work in fermentation and phytopharmaceutical development. He also flagged challenges in pharmacokinetics, clinical validation and regulatory clarity, while raising concern over India’s heavy dependence on imported APIs.
Earlier, Dr. Zabeer Ahmed, Director, CSIR-IIIM, in his welcome address said the meet aims to build a sustained interface between researchers, industry and regulators. He noted that CSIR’s Phytopharmaceutical Mission is in Phase III, with ten laboratories working on extraction, characterisation and lead discovery. Three leads have completed preclinical studies and are ready for clinical translation.
He identified the lack of robust GMP manufacturing and clinical infrastructure as key bottlenecks and said industry participation is vital for clinical progression. He also highlighted the research potential of cannabis for multiple disease areas and called for policy dialogue to enable regulated clinical research. |
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