How J&J Scientist Koul Hopes To Reboot R&D At India’s IMTECH

Anil Koul, part of the Johnson & Johnson team that discovered and developed TB drug Sirturo, is currently on a sabbatical to head up IMTECH, an Indian R&D institute. Koul shares with Scrip the ups and downs of Sirturo's development journey and outlines what he hopes to achieve at IMTECH.

For any top-notch scientist, shifting from a frontline innovator firm to a government R&D institution in an emerging market like India is, as some industry watchers say, akin to moving from Hollywood to local theater. Smaller budgets, technology constraints, scale limitations and inefficiencies are just some of the general variances that you may have to deal with.

But Dr. Anil Koul, part of the Johnson & Johnson team that discovered and developed tuberculosis (TB) drug Sirturo (bedaquiline), believes that the big picture, at times, warrants taking in your stride the challenges that come with such choices

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