Wanowrie’s pride: Dr Joshi creates drug for sickle cell anaemia

SPPU PROF, 2 STUDENTS CREATE AYURVEDA DRUG ‘HIMAADHAR’

Savitribai Phule Pune University Professor Doctor Pooja Doshi and her students Nitin Kadam and Yuvraj Kale from Chemistry Department have researched and created Ayurvedic medicine ‘Himaadhar’ through the ‘Design Innovation Centre’. Dr Pooja Doshi is a resident of Green Valley society in Wanowrie.

Information and commercialization of this Ayurvedic medicine was done through ‘Research Park Foundation’ of the Savitribai Phule Pune University.
The announcement of the drug was made at the Innovation in Medical, Pharmaceutical and Allied Sciences for Commercialization of Technology (IMPACT 2.0) event.

Savitribai Phule Pune University Vice-Chancellor Dr. Karbhari Kale, Pro-Chancellor Dr. Sanjiv Sonwane, Chief Innovation Officer of the Union Ministry of Education Dr. Abhay Jere, University Research Park Foundation Chief Executive Officer Dr. Arvind Shaligram, Research Director of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences ( Additional) Dr. D.K.Agarwal, Registrar Dr.M.V.Ghorpade and other dignitaries were present at the event.

Dr. Pooja Doshi, who worked on this drug said, “I was a patient of Sickle Cell Anaemia and that’s where the idea of the medicine for this came from. I am working as a professor in the department of chemistry at a university. I started studying on this with the help of my students. The prevalence of sickle cell anaemia in the world is five percent in the total population. And it is highest in India and in Nigeria. In this disease, blood is produced in a very small amounts in the human body. Also, red cells are less compared to a normal person. This causes the person to experience symptoms of fatigue.”

“We have a great wealth of Ayurveda, Yoga Shastra, adding technology, now it’s time to present it to the world,” said Dr. Karbhari Kale, Vice-Chancellor, Savitribai Phule Pune University.

“We are trying to make research like Himadaar happen in the university in the future as well. This kind of research is the need of the country. The university is striving to promote innovation and research among students through the Invention and Research Park Foundation,” said Dr. Sanjeev Sonawane, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Savitribai Phule Pune University