Bio-Business in Brief : The Case of Conotoxins

A recent report in Science states that rotaviruses (the cause of many a diarrhoea) lead to 20–60 deaths a year in the United States and about 600,000 in the developing world. This is one of the many disturbing health statistics that differentiates the developed from the developing world. If we are to see the gap narrow significantly within our lifetime, Indian researchers and entrepreneurs need to engage more with drug development. Indigenous drugs are significantly cheaper than those made elsewhere and increase our ‘health security'. Their production also helps build the nation's capabilities and economic competitiveness. In an effort to contribute to this process, this article focuses on conotoxins as drug candidates.(Article freely downloadable from the journal website.)