Dr Sharma said that the technology transfer has taken place for diagnostic kits with Shanta Biotech for alpha feto protein, Bharat Biotech for hepatitis A, Cadila Pharma for HIV and Biological Evans for hepatitis B. Zydus Cadila too, has entered into a technology transfer deal for some growth hormones, she added. All the deals have taken place during the last eight months, she said at the sidelines of a meet to launch a new school of bio-sciences and bio-engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai.

Commenting on the Hepatitis B deal acquired by Biological Evans, Dr Sharma said that the expression system, developed at the Baroda centre of DBT, is a very good recombinant and would be used against many other diseases as also for novel drug delivery systems. The Hepatitis B deal entailed a down-payment of Rs 30 lakh, she added.

Meanwhile, the new bio-science and bio-engineering school, christened `The Bhupat & Jyoti Mehta school of bio-sciences and bio-engineering', is expected to be functional by December 2002. It is being set up at an estimated project cost of Rs 55 crore.

The Mehta family foundation is providing donation, that will support a portion of the building construction and infrastructure plus endowments and research.

Mr Rahul Mehta of the Mehta Foundation and President, NuView Inc, Houston said that the aid was with a dual purpose - humanitarian and economical. With biotechnology being the wealth creator for the next generation, the school would also help improve the healthcare of the country's populace, he added.

The school would also work as one of the catalysts for the rest of the nation, with focus on education and research, besides standing out as very good training centre to develop data mining and data allocation.

The school would pursue partnership with industry in the field of biotech, besides working with some of the leading research centres in the world as also with some leading medical schools.