The multinational soft drink producers will soon have a rival from India -- "a bio cola" derived from ayurvedic herb Brahmi.

Called 'Dr. No Cola', the new product will be marketed by Miracle Molecule, a joint venture of the Chennai-based Biopharma Private Limited and Singaporean firm The Hourglass Limited, the company officials announced at the BioAsia-2004 conference in Hyderabad.

Raj Kumar, managing director of Biopharma, said Dr. No Cola will be promoted as a health drink because of its ability to produce nitric oxide, a health molecule whose benefits to the human body were discovered by the Nobel Prize-winning US scientist Robert Furchgott. The drink will be priced at Rs 12.

Brahmi's memory improving properties were discovered by scientists of the Central Drug Research Institute in Lucknow more than a decade ago.

Raj Kumar said his Chennai plant will produce the concentrate and ship it to Singapore where it will be bottled and sold to markets in Asia.

Datto Jannie Tay, managing director of the joint venture company, said the product has already received approval from the Singapore government.