An innovation in oral cancer screening, patented by a faculty of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA), is now poised for commercial production.

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

The university in a media release said: “Dr. Swagatika Panda, distinguished professor in the Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology at the Institute of Dental Sciences (IDS), SOA’s faculty of dental sciences, who had developed the cutting-edge oral cancer screening kit and patented it, has transferred the same to a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company for production and marketing.”

The release further said: “The patent assignment transfer agreement featured three key stakeholders, Dr. Panda, assignor and creator of the patented technology, Supriya Pharmaceuticals, the assignee with the mission of putting the innovation on the commercial forefront and the Technology Business Incubator, affiliated to the Department of Biotechnology, which facilitated the collaboration between academia and industry. The collaboration was facilitated by Dr. Amaresh Panda, Technology Transfer Officer at TBI.”

The clinical effectiveness of the innovation had been rigorously demonstrated through observational studies conducted at the Department of Oral Surgery, Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology and Department of Oral Pathology at IDS.