NRDC and NCISM Partner to Bring Traditional Medicine Research to Market

NCISM will connect NRDC with its regulated institutions, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Cells and registered medical practitioners across India.

The National Research Development Corporation and the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine have formed a strategic partnership to help researchers and practitioners turn promising work in traditional medicine into protected, validated and commercially useful healthcare solutions.

The organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding covering innovation, intellectual property management, technology transfer and the commercialisation of research developed by NCISM-regulated institutions and registered practitioners working across Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa.

Closing the gap between research and practical use

Indian traditional medicine institutions generate academic and clinical research that may have value for patients, healthcare providers and businesses, yet many ideas need stronger technical assessment, intellectual property protection, validation and industry connections before they can become usable products or services.

The partnership creates a framework for identifying such innovations at an early stage and guiding them through patent protection, technology evaluation, licensing and market preparation. This support could help researchers understand the commercial potential of their work while protecting the knowledge and technologies developed within their institutions.

NRDC brings intellectual property expertise

NRDC will assist innovators with patents, trademarks, technology assessment, valuation, licensing and technology transfer. It will also connect institutions with industry, promote sponsored research and help research teams create practical strategies for intellectual property management and commercialisation.

Mentoring and incubation support will be offered to innovators who need help developing early ideas into technically viable solutions. NRDC's involvement could also help institutions judge whether a technology is ready for licensing, requires additional research or needs a commercial partner for further development.

NRDC Chairman and Managing Director Commodore Amit Rastogi (Retd.) said the collaboration would create a stronger support mechanism for innovators and researchers, helping promising findings become deployable technologies with wider social value.

Institutions and practitioners join innovation network

NCISM will connect NRDC with its regulated institutions, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Cells and registered medical practitioners across India. Technical, financial and commercial arrangements linked to individual projects will be handled directly between NRDC and the institution or innovator concerned.

The partnership will support institutional intellectual property policies, capacity-building programmes, innovation awareness campaigns, ideathons, hackathons, technology showcases and meetings with industry. Research success stories will also be shared to encourage more teachers, students and practitioners to explore innovation and entrepreneurship.

Evidence-based traditional healthcare solutions

NCISM Chairperson Dr Maneesha Kothekar said the agreement would strengthen research and innovation across institutions regulated by the commission. Combining scientific research with innovation management and commercial support could encourage faculty members, researchers and practitioners to develop evidence-based healthcare technologies rooted in India's traditional medical knowledge.

The MoU was exchanged in the presence of senior representatives from the Board of Ayurveda and the Board of Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa. The collaboration supports a wider effort to build an innovation-driven and self-reliant healthcare ecosystem in which traditional knowledge can be carefully researched, protected and translated into credible products, technologies and services.