India's National Institute for Pharmaceutical Education and Research Hosts InnoCentive Conference

    CHANDIGARH, India, March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- InnoCentive today announced
 that its annual conference was held at the Indian government's National
 Institute for Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), in Chandigarh,
 Punjab, on Saturday, March 4, 2006.  This year's event theme was, "InnoCentive
 Innovation Series: Value Addition to Natural Products."  Five prominent
 speakers from prestigious Indian universities and institutes addressed the
 conference that was attended by scientists, students and research firms from
 across the country.
     (Photo:  NewsCom:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060306/SFM094
                        http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050919/SFM013 )
     Commenting on the successful event, Ali Hussein, InnoCentive's chief
 marketing officer, vice president of global markets, said, "Having India's
 prestigious National Institute for Pharmaceutical Education and Research agree
 to host this year's conference was a clear statement of the importance that
 the Indian pharmaceutical industry places on innovation and global
 collaboration, both hallmarks of InnoCentive's business model."  Hussein
 added, "We were also delighted to have the strong support and active
 participation by some of India's leading scholars in the pharmaceutical field,
 who shared their knowledge on R&D issues affecting India's pharmaceutical
 industry.
     Hussein addressed the conference along with Dr. P. Ramarao, Professor,
 Director, NIPER; Dr. Bijoy Kundu, deputy director, Division of Medicinal
 Chemistry, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow; Dr. Virinder S. Parmar,
 professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Delhi; Dr. G.N. Qazi,
 director, Regional Research Laboratory, Jammu; Dr. Mukund K. Gurjar, deputy
 director, Division of Organic Chemistry: Technology at the National Chemical
 Laboratory, Pune; and Dr. K.K. Bhutani, dean, NIPER's Department of Natural
 Products.
     Declared an "Institute of National Importance" by the Indian government,
 NIPER is located in the city of Chandigarh in India's Punjab province, and was
 established as a center for advanced studies and research for the
 pharmaceutical sciences.  NIPER operates under the aegis of the Ministry of
 Chemicals and Fertilizers.  The institute provides leadership for the
 pharmaceutical sciences and related areas not only within India, but also to
 countries in South East Asia, South Asia and Africa.
     InnoCentive offers companies an opportunity to increase their R&D
 potential by posting challenges to a confidential online forum and gaining
 access to leading scientific minds.  InnoCentive has developed a solid global
 brand with their unique virtual R&D network of over 90,000 scientists spanning
 more than 175 countries that has greatly helped companies reduce the
 escalating costs and shorten the time required to bring products to market.
 InnoCentive's goal is to further advance scientific research and collaboration
 in worldwide markets.
 
     About InnoCentive
     InnoCentive is the first online forum that allows world-class scientists
 and science-based companies to collaborate in a global scientific community to
 achieve innovative solutions to complex challenges.  Companies including
 Boeing, Eli Lilly and Company, Procter & Gamble and others, which collectively
 spend billions of dollars on R&D, post scientific problems confidentially on
 the InnoCentive Web site where more than 90,000 scientists and scientific
 organizations in more than 175 countries can solve them.  Scientists who
 deliver solutions that best meet InnoCentive's challenge requirements receive
 financial awards ranging up to and over $100,000.  To learn more and to
 register as an InnoCentive Solver, visit the InnoCentive Web site at
 www.innocentive.com.
 
     NOTE:  InnoCentive and InnoCentive Challenge are registered trademarks of
 InnoCentive, Inc. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the
 trademarks of their respective owners.
 
     Contact:  Ali Hussein, Chief Marketing Officer, Vice President of Global
 Markets of InnoCentive, +1-978-482-3366; or Micky Huang, +1-510-226-6780, ext.
 154, or innocentive-pr@e21corp.com, for InnoCentive.
 
 

SOURCE  InnoCentive, Inc.