Oral Cancer Screening Kit Developed By SOA Faculty To Be Produced By Mumbai Firm

Bhubaneswar: A path-breaking innovation patented by a Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) Deemed to be University faculty is poised for commercial production.

A cutting-edge oral cancer screening kit, developed and patented by Dr Swagatika Panda, professor in the department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology at Institute of Dental Sciences (IDS), SOA’s faculty of dental sciences, will be produced and marketed by a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company.

The patent assignment transfer agreement featured three stakeholders — Dr Panda, assignor and creator of the patented technology; Supriya Pharmaceuticals, the assignee with mission of putting the innovation on commercial forefront; Technology Business Incubator (TBI), affiliated to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), which facilitated collaboration between academia and industry.

The collaboration was facilitated by Dr Amaresh Panda, Technology Transfer Officer at TBI.

The oral cancer screening kit was developed with the support of Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG), provided by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) under the aegis of DBT.

The clinical effectiveness of the screening kit was rigorously demonstrated through observational studies conducted at Department of Oral Surgery, Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology and Department of Oral Pathology at IDS. There was robust evidence of the technology’s ability to revolutionise oral cancer screening by confirming its potential to bring about a paradigm shift in early detection and intervention.

“This patent assignment transfer represents high value collaboration between academia and the healthcare industry exemplifying the potential for impactful innovations to transition from research and development to practical applications that benefit society,” said Prof. (Dr) Neeta Mohanty, Dean of IDS.