Research & Development

This strategic decision making centre houses the core R&D and Administrative/ Executive facility. Concepts for the several innovative products are originated in these laboratories and successfully commercialized.

This division forms the core of the company and has played a significant role. The team is basically involved in developing and optimizing extraction processes to obtain standardized extracts from identified natural sources. Other core activities of this division include identification, isolation, and characterization of bio-actives.

Because of high-level of dedication shown by the team, we are able to skillfully commercialize standardized phytoextracts that function as nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals or nutricosmetics to meet the ever increasing global needs.

The department is well-equipped among many other sophisticated equipments like Nikon Eclipse Ci Microscope attached with digital Nikon Camera DS-Ri 2. This division is supported by Pharmacognosy department, another important part of R&D unit, in authenticating the raw materials used in the production for their morphological and microscopic characteristics.

Synthetic Chemistry department mainly focuses on development of new bioactive molecules for pharmaceutical as well as cosmetic applications. A plethora of synthons made at this facility extends to peptides, sugars, natural products, peptide and natural active hybrids, chiral molecules, drug intermediates, markers etc. This is why our catalog of specialty chemicals gets regularly updated with new and valuable additions.

For each molecule that goes to pilot/production scale, the scientists at the R&D facility constantly strive to simplify synthetic routes to enable easier scale-up, better costing with a focus to be environmentally benign. A long list of publications and patents support the high-quality research that the department is involved in.

The department also undertakes synthesis of customer-based natural molecules and/or corresponding metabolites as well as other general organics for various biophysical studies. Several research institutes and universities in India and abroad are in touch with the department and make use of our expertise.

The main focus of this division is on micropropagation of elite clones of plants with significant bioactivity. It also works on selected rare plants for propagation, through tissue culture techniques in the laboratory.

The Agri-biotechnology team is engaged in prospection of elite genotypes of high value medicinal and aromatic plants, ensuring desired planting material of a specific crop suitable for commercial cultivation in a specific climatic zone, developing agro-techniques and standardizing post-harvest technologies and transferring these to the field through contract cultivation.

With the philosophy of ‘Cultivation leads to conservation and reduces the burden on wild resources,’ cultivation of Coleus forskohlii in India on thousands of acres, followed by commercial cultivation of turmeric, amla, tulsi and many other medicinal plants. The introduction of Coleus forskohlii from the wild to successful commercial cultivation ensured the sustainable utilization and conservation of this valuable medicinal crop.

Efforts to develop plant extracts as a source of concentrated natural, nutritional supplements is a research priority of the group. Modified hydroponic techniques for enriching various micronutrients, viz. iron and zinc in green gram and selenium in garlic have been discovered and translated to successful launch of commercial products.

Analytical R&D lab has been audited and accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) for its validated testing protocols. Equipped with State-of-the-art facility to meet international standards, this division plays a pivotal role in setting the product standards and ensuring the adherence to these set of qualities.

An array of modern equipments are deployed in this division so as to characterize various extracts and newer molecules, and evaluate quality of each product in a more precise and conclusive way. Various highly sophisticated instruments present in this laboratory include HPLC, GC, LC-MS, HP-TLC, HATR, CHNS analyzer, GC-MS, NMR (300 MHz), ICP-MS, LCMS-MS, GCMS-MS.

To comply with the varied quality requirements globally, the Analytical R&D ensures quality of the finished products with regard to

• Method developments and their validation
• Bio-active content (assay/purity)
• Limitations of heavy metals, residual solvents and pesticide residues
• Other physical and chemical parameters as per the specifications
• Recovery studies of various formulations

The biological research division is also NABL-accredited. It mainly focuses on developing safety & efficacy profile of the products by screening through an elaborate series of in vitro methods that does not involve testing on animals.

The team has been instrumental in evaluating numerous phyto ingredients and cosmeceuticals for their safety and efficacy using a battery of in vitro testing technologies in the following fields of research, and the lab is well-equipped with sophisticated instruments like Flow cytometer, RT-PCR.

The biotechnology division has developed stable probiotics and enzyme complexes. Experiments on biocatalytic conversion to enhance better recovery of certain bioactives are carried out here. Some of the key areas are:

The formulation R&D division forms the convergence of various product concepts that have been developed as ingredients. Bioactives, based on their activity and functionality, are mold into various forms based on their nutraceutical, cosmeceutical, nutricosmetic as well as food & beverage applications.

The three major functional areas include,

Development of prototypes for a number of solid, liquid and semisolid dosage forms, dietary supplements, personal care range cosmetics and functional food concepts is the core activity of this division. Formulation R&D division plays a major role in providing solid foundation for the business development activities.

The Regulatory Affairs department is an important part of the organization. Internally it liaises at the interphase of drug development, manufacturing, marketing, and clinical research, while externally it is the key interface between the company and the regulatory authorities. The team is involved in the development of new products from early on, by integrating regulatory principles and by preparing and submitting the relevant regulatory dossiers to health authorities.

The division is also instrumental in developing regulatory strategy, arranging meetings with various agencies, preparation and compilation of questions and briefing documents, and manages all communications with the agencies.

This team works as an interface between the R&D, marketing and business development team, and clients. Being a strategically important department, technical support also plays a crucial role in providing ideas in the development of innovative new products as per market requirements.

The department co-ordinates with all sections of the company, right from R&D to QA, manufacturing units to marketing and business development teams in gathering necessary information or documents pertaining to all the products so that relevant and precise information can be passed on to customers and clients. In addition, this division supports marketing and business development team with techno-marketing promotional tools, such as product flyers, brochures, presentations and other write-ups. The team is also engaged in addressing technical queries from global offices, and providing necessary information to clients and customers based on their specific requirements.