An Indian scientist in the forefront of global RNAi research, who in 1997 showed for the first time that genes could be silenced in fruit flies, is trying to use this technology to develop better diagnostics for cancer, moving, as it were, up against the stream as most of the global patents are held by just two companies. ”It’s very difficult to develop new therapeutics with RNAi as most of the patents are owned by US-based Sirna Therapeutics Inc., and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.,” said Utpal Bhadra, a senior scientist at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad.