Thiruvananthapuram: President A P J Abdul Kalam on November 18 said that traditional knowledge of Indian medicines and bio-technology should be integrated for inventing drugs in the country.

Speaking after inaugurating the new building of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Kalam said bio-technology and traditional medical science should not be kept aloof.

"They should be integrated. Kerala is rich in Ayurveda and a high-tech joint research is essential in bio-technology and Ayurveda," Kalam said.

Kalam said he met a bio-technologist Arun Balakrishnan who developed a drug from extracts of a herb which was used by one Velmuruga Vaidyan for curing a special type of cancer.

"Arun Balakrishnan relied on the rich traditional knowledge and kept on his research work and developed the molecule first and then drug," he said, adding but other researchers were not ready to believe the traditional knowledge.

"Arun Balakrishnan also patented the developed drug in his and Velmurugan's name," the President said.

In this context he said, "Time has come for our researchers to come out with drugs. Researchers should break the tradition of marketing the molecule."

"You (researchers) should produce a result within next five years. Finally, the result is the one that strengthens the research and also proves the usefulness of research to the common man," he said.

PTI