Bhiwadi, Rajasthan: Insecticides (India) Ltd. (IIL), a leading crop protection and nutrition company, has made significant strides in its research and development activities for ‘discovery molecules’. OAT & IIL India Laboratories, a joint venture with Japan’s leading chemical conglomerate, OAT Agrio Co, has filed 11 patents for crop protection solutions in the past 10 years.
“IIL had partnered with OAT Agrio Co. Ltd., aiming to invent novel agro-molecules way back in 2013. One of its kind, the 80:20 OAT-IIL JV focuses on researching and inventing new chemical entities for India and the world, promising a brighter and prosperous future for agriculture. A dedicated team of more than 40 scientists is exploring a diverse range of crop protection solutions, each marked by a unique structural entity, opening up new horizons in crop protection,” Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director of Insecticides (India) said.
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“With a significant journey in the past 10 years, the joint venture has filed 11 patents. For its developed molecules, the JV provides IIL exclusive manufacturing rights for the Indian market as well as export rights to 12 countries while OAT has rights to export to the rest of the world,” he added.
The state-of-the-art Analytical Laboratory, equipped with advanced infrastructure and manned by seasoned scientists, is a testament to modernity. A greenhouse on its premises rigorously evaluates product efficacy, ensuring only the finest products reach the market. Key technologies like NMR and UPLC-MS play pivotal roles. NMR identifies compound structures, while UPLC-MS provides crucial data on the purity of new entities. The OAT-IIL research promises substantial impacts on the Indian agrochemical industry and the global landscape.
The other two research facilities are at Dahej and Shamli respectively. Dahej research facility is again working on the process development of the new formulations and has contributed significantly in the past few years. Shamli research facility is dedicated to research in the field of biologicals, which has contributed to bringing out four new biological products. IIL spends INR 10 crores for its wholly-owned three R&D centres annually. The OAT-IIL joint venture is allocated INR 15 crores. The 80 per cent allocation is made by the Japanese partner and 20 per cent is borne by IIL.
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IIL’s resilience story is one of deep market penetration, benefiting over 25 lakh farmers pan India and beyond. With two technical synthesis plants, six formulation plants, and one biological plant operating under a toll arrangement, IIL is a fully integrated entity, encompassing R&D, technical synthesis, formulation, and aggressive marketing efforts.
IIL has been spearheading the research initiatives in the industry since 2005. Since then, IIL has come a long way and today it has four state-of-the-art R&D centres working in different streams at various strategic locations. “Our innovation prowess is evident in the rising number of patents filed by IIL – 39, out of which 21 has been granted so far,” the company said.
IIL started its R&D endeavours with an in-house R&D centre at Chopanki, near Bihwadi in Rajasthan which is a GLP-certified lab now and approved by DSIR. This R&D centre has contributed significantly to scaling up IIL range of products from lab scale gram level to commercialisation.
