India thwarts UK firm’s bid to patent compound of turmeric, pine bark and tea for treating hair loss

India has once again succeeded in protecting its traditional knowledge by thwarting an attempt by Europe's leading dermaceutical laboratory, Pangaea Laboratories Limited, to patent a medicinal composition containing turmeric, pine bark and green tea for treating hair loss.

Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), a unit of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), discovered the European Patent Office had filed pre-grant opposition along with prior-art evidences from TKDL, proving that turmeric, pine bark and green tea are being used as a treatment for hair loss, since long in Indian systems of medicine like Ayurveda and Unani.

The UK-based company had filed the patent application at European Patent office in February 2011. 

CSIR-TKDL Unit had filed evidence from TKDL on 13 January 2014 after the patent application was published on the website. Following this, the patent application is deemed to have been finally withdrawn by the applicant on 29 June  2015.

Till date CSIR-TKDL unit has preveted about 200 such cases without any cost, a government release stated.

Only recently, CSIR-TKDL foiled an attempt of Colgate-Palmolive Company to patent a mouthwash formula containing herb (nutmeg-jayaphal) extract used in Indian traditional systems of medicine to cure oral diseases, at European Patent office.

Traditional Knowledge Digital Library of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-TKDL), headed by Archana Sharma, submitted proof in the form of references from ancient books in this case, which said the herb and its extracts of Myristica Fragrans were historically used for oral diseases in Indian systems of medicine.