Signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on 20 August 2014 with
Bilcare Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Praful
Naik, AIT President Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai referred to the tie up
as an “historic” one for the international institute located in
Pathumthani province.
The deal signed with AIT’s Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology
(COEN) is intended to foster mutually beneficial cooperation in a
number of areas. Officials from both sides see the higher
education—industry partnership opening up numerous possibilities for
advanced technology synergies in support of sustainable development in
the region.
Based in Pune, India, Bilcare Ltd is a global leader in innovation-led
packaging solutions for the pharmaceutical industry. The firm recently
captured attention with its newly patented nanotechnology-enabled
nonClonableID™ technology.
The breakthrough arose as a result of serious concern about the
counterfeit drug market as fake drugs pose serious threats to health.
The technology, which is based on nanotechnology particle patterns
dispersed on a chip, is said to be impossible to copy.
According to Dr. Naik, the new technology offers authorization,
verification and product tracking and tracing — and is the only
technology available today that is capable of providing all three
components in one system. Anti-counterfeiting, e-pedigree (for example,
college transcripts) and tamper proof packaging are also applications
involved with the technology, Dr. Naik explained at a corporate seminar
held at AIT on August 21 to introduce the technology.
Based on the agreement, AIT becomes the first higher education
institute to partner with Bilcare Ltd, which has sales in over 100
countries and operates nine manufacturing centers and four R&D
centers in Europe, the United States and Asia.
AIT will contribute programs that support product verification,
technology adaptation, training and continued research and development
of Bilcare’s game-changing nonClonableID™ technology and its
collaborative technology offerings. A diverse range of industrial,
government and academic segments can benefit from the application of
nonClonableID™ technology, said COEN director Dr. Louis Hornyak.
Bilcare Ltd will support a raft of initiatives that will bolster
COEN’s stature as a regional hub for nanotechnology higher education
and research. The company will provide scholarships for students to
study at COEN, and will consider implementing internships for students
of nanotechnology at AIT to spend time at its R&D or business
centers in Singapore, U.S. and Europe. Bilcare Ltd will also provide
funds for an enhanced library of e-resources to support AIT projects
aligned to its mission, as well as aid company-sponsored research
conducted by COEN.
From left: Dr. Louis Gabor Hornyak, Prof.
Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Dr. Praful Naik, and Dr. Dr. Siddharth K.
Jabade.