CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Drug Discovery Hackathon 2020 (DDH2020) platform welcomes all those who wish to join the open-source drug discovery Hackathon against Covid-19. DDH2020 is a joint initiative of AICTE, CSIR and supported by Office of Principal Scientific Advisor, Govt. of India, NIC and MyGov .

Detailed explanation-2: -DDH2020 vision and mission is to establish ‘Open innovation Model’ for in silico drug discovery against Covid-19 virus and will cover the various processes in drug discovery, including but not limited to, in silico screening of molecules, lead optimization and identification of drug-able non-toxic targets.

Detailed explanation-3: -The beginning of drug discovery in India can be traced to the second decade of the twentieth century. The research work by Upendranath Brahmachari at the Campbell Medical College at Kolkata lead to the invention of urea stibamine against kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis). This drug was introduced in the year 1922.

Detailed explanation-4: -In spite of many odds, Indian pharmaceutical and biotech companies have been able to pile up an impressive array of more than 120 new chemical entities (NCEs) currently progressing in various preclinical and clinical stages of developments. A few examples are given below.