Moneymakers

BUDDING FORTH: Bangalore-based Sri
Vasavi Florex Ltd, a 100 per cent
export-oriented floriculture unit,
has tied up with Sayag Nurseries of
Israel to set up a joint venture unit in
Doddaballapur, near Bangalore.
Israel would provide the technical
know-how on cultivation methods,
plants, machinery and plant material
and market the flowers outside the
country. The unit would have eight
greenhouses with a capacity to produce 9.2 million stems per annum.
The global flower market is valued at
Rs 750,000 million.

JOINING FORCES: Chiroscience of UK
fortified its base in the biotechnology market by buying US-based
Darwin Molecular for US $120
million in shares. The agreement
expands its drug-development
work based on the field of genetic
research. Darwin will provide
Chiroscience with
new formulae for
cancer and arthritis
drugs. Darwin is
involved in the
mapping of the
more than 100,000
genes contained in
the human genetic makeup. Chiroscience aims at developing new drugs
by screening millions of molecules
that can be quickly tested for any
drug potential.

CURRENT SOFTWARE: Utilities will be
able to purchase and sell electric
capacity with the help of a new
Internet-based system. The system
will be developed by the US-based
International Business Machines
Corp (IBM) and a unit of Germany's
Siemens AG. The new system will
make electricity cheaper in US by
providing data to enable utilities to
temporarily use the transmission
lines of other power suppliers. The
IBM-Siemens venture will charge
US $10,000-$15,000 a month from
each company, depending on size.
They expect to capture around 25 per
cent of the emerging power-trading
information market.

RESOURCES ON-LINE: ESRI India, an
alliance between
Delhi's NIIT Ltd
and ESRI Inc of US,
will soon make
available technical
consultancy for
geographical information systems
(GIS) software in India. GIS
involves spatial data used for the
preparation of maps, creation
and management of databases and
analysis of remote sensed satellite
data. According to Vijay K Thadani,
NIIT president, the tie-up will
"allow India to manage its natural
resources like forests, land and
watersheds better through enhanced
use of GIS."

GREEN PUMPS: People living in remote
areas will soon benefit from a water
pump running on non-conventional
energy, being developed by Pune-
based ELPRO International Ltd.
The company has entered into an
agreement with Sunpower Inc, a US-based company. The joint venture
!hopes to produce the prototype
by mid-1997. The pump will be powered by biogas, bagasse, wood shavings and twigs. It will be marketed
, in areas where diesel cannot be
carried and electricity is not available. The pump will be priced
between Rs 10,000- 12,000.

GOING EASTWARD: British Biotech
PLC has tied up with Japan's Tanabe
Seiyaku Co to develop and market
the company's experimental but
promising cancer
medicine Marimastat in Japan. As
per the agreement,
the British drug-maker will receive
US $74 million plus
royalties on sales of
Marimastat if the drug passes clinical
testing and is introduced in the
Japanese market. All development
costs including costs of extra clinical
trials conducted locally, will be
borne by Tanabe.