AP may see
AP may see $136-million biotech investment in the
next five years
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Robert Kilpatrick receiving a memento from Lakshmi
Parthasarathy, principal secretary, Ministry of Industries, Government
of Andhra Pradesh. |
BioAsia 2006 attracted over 500 delegates, 58 sponsors and exhibitors and
12000 visitors from 33 countries, reflecting the mood of the biotech industry to
collaborate across boundaries.
The state of Andhra Pradesh has witnessed a cumulative
investment of approximately $220.7 million (Rs 1000 crore) since 2002.
Extrapolating the same, it is estimated that the same companies will invest
around $1360 million (about Rs 6,000 crore) in the next five years," said
Dr Geeta Reddy, minister of tourism and industries, Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking after inaugurating the three-day third in series
BioAsia 2006, an annual biotech event organized by the Government of Andhra
Pradesh in Hyderabad on February 9, 2006, she said, "Andhra Pradesh today
has the proud privilege of being regarded as the number one Bio State of the
country and Genome Valley is the first international biotech cluster in the
country, which has attracted attention globally. We've consistently pursued
proactive policies and undertaken several initiatives to support and promote the
biotechnology sector in the state. The state government is providing an
additional 300 acres of space for Genome Valley Biotech Park at Medak
district."
Delivering the keynote address, Dr MK Bhan, secretary,
Department of Biotechnology, outlined the strong measures taken for the
promotion of biotechnology by the Indian government and highlighted the role it
could play in fulfilling current societal needs by way of generating wealth and
employment. He said, "The government has been working on issues on human
resources besides other issues like regulatory, setting up of business
incubators and biotech parks. It has set up many groups and also allocated
resources to rapidly develop initiatives to meet the requirements of the
industry."
Addressing the gathering, Dr Anwar Nasim, chairman, National
Commission on Biotechnology of Pakistan and president of Federation of Asian
Biotechnology Associations (FABA), said, "We are committed for the growth
of biotechnology in Asian countries. Four more countries – Japan, Korea,
Indonesia and Bangladesh - have joined FABA in the last one year. With this
the number of members to FABA has increased to 14. The increase in membership
has strengthened and boosted our initiatives. We have also formed a tripartite
committee between USA-India–Pakistan to promote biotechnology research
activities in the region."
Commenting on the growing co-operation among Asian biotech
countries, Dr Anwar Nasim, said, "BioAsia has played a significant role in
creating a platform for Asian biotech companies to interact and collaborate. We
are delighted to see that the formation of FABA has specially brought India and
Pakistan close in the area of biotechnology."
On the occasion, Dr Geeta Reddy presented the Genome Valley
Excellence Award – 2006 to Dr Guntaka Rama Reddy, Department of Molecular
Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center,
Memphis, for his contributions in the field of biotechnology. The US-settled
bioscientist of Indian origin is currently working to develop a vaccine for
Hepatitis-C. Prof Guntaka was part of the four-member team that discovered
proto-oncogenes, the genes that cause cancer. J Michael Bishop and Harold E
Varmus, one of the two members, received Nobel Prize for medicine in 1989. Dr MS
Swaminathan and Dr William Rutter were the first recipients of the award
instituted in 2004 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. In 2005, the award went
to Prof William Haseltine.
Dr Geeta Reddy also released a Compendium of Biotechnology
Organizations in Andhra Pradesh compiled by Ernst & Young and newsletter
gene Hap brought out by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of Andhra
Pradesh.
BioAsia 2007 website unveiled
After three days of sessions and exhibits, BioAsia 2006 came
to a close on February 11, 2006. Speaking at the valedictory function, Lakshmi
Parthasarathy, principal secretary, Ministry of Industries, Government of Andhra
Pradesh, said, "The summit has lived up to its promise of being a platform
for bridging the Asian and global biotech communities. We have been successful
in attracting over 500 delegates, 58 sponsors and exhibitors and 12000 visitors
from 33 countries that reflects the mood of the biotech industry to collaborate
across boundaries. We plan to take this success to new heights in the years to
come."
| On the
Sidelines
Panel stresses on biocluster development
On the first day of BioAsia 2006, ICICI Knowledge
Park hosted a panel discussion on Bio Parks at Genome Valley. Dr MK Bhan,
secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India along with
the state representatives from Uttaranchal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Delhi
and West Bengal discussed the significance of biocluster development in
India. He emphasized the need for states and the Centre to work in
synergy in pursuit of creating a biocluster.
There was also a need felt for world-class quality
training centers for clinical trial investigation. And it was decided to
identify a top medical college in each state to elevate it to a Center
of Excellence with state-of-the-art technology and research facilities.
The panel decided to set up Bio Parks Authority of
India, steered by a high powered committee, along the lines of Software
Technology Parks of India, to bring down bureaucratic delays and clear
the hurdles in the implementation of biotech parks. Dr Bhan assured the
Andhra Pradesh government of all the support and co-operation for the
setting up of a clinical research trials institute to address the needs
of drug discovery companies in the state.
TiE launches Hyderabad Biotech Chapter
On the second day of BioAsia 2006, The Indus
Entrepreneurs (TiE) launched its Hyderabad Biotech Chapter. The chapter
will work in synergy with the Indian School of Business and Ernst &
Young to promote promising entrepreneurs in the field of biotechnology
by providing them the right opportunities. Srinivas Akkaraju from JP
Morgan Partners will support the TiE Hyderabad Biotech Chapter from the
US.
Speaking at the launch of the Hyderabad Biotech
Chapter, J A Chowdhary said, "It was only imperative for us to
start the biotech chapter here considering the frenzy of activities
happening in the city of Hyderabad in the area of biotechnology. We
received about 60 business proposals last year, out of which about 12
people were asked to make their presentations. Two-three of these are
likely to get their funding too very shortly."
He further invited all budding biotech entrepreneurs
to submit their business plan. These business plans will be then
evaluated and short listed by the TiE-ISB Connect panel. The selected
few will then be required to make presentations to a team of renowned
VCs.
As a success on to TiE-ISB Connect 2005, there will
be another event- TiE- ISB Connect 2006 in September. However,
interestingly the scope of the event has been expanded from only IT to
cover retail, infrastructure and biotech as well.
"Ernst & Young releases "Health
Quotient"
Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, at the
third Ernst & Young CEO Conclave which coincided with BioAsia 2006,
released Health Quotient, an Ernst & Young report on the challenges
and opportunities in the Indian pharmaceuticals, biotech and healthcare
sectors. Health Quotient gives insights into the global generics market
and how the untapped potential in the domestic Indian market, weapons of
mass protection (vaccines) from India and a surge in medical tourism
could drive the growth in this sector. |
"Hyderabad is a happening place in biotechnology space.
We see it with a lot of opportunities for bio partnerships. And we are committed
for BioAsia. We expected 100 meetings for BioAsia 2006. As many as 62 companies
registered with us and at the end, 30 meetings took place at the event,"
said Dr Robert Lee Kilpatrick, partner, Technology Vision Group LLC.
Sharing his views Dr A Ashok, director, Department of
Biotechnology, Government of Andhra Pradesh said, "BioAsia 2006 achieved
its objective of providing an interactive platform for academia, bio
entrepreneurs, policy makers, scientists and students while strengthening the
linkage between academia, research, industry and the government. It provided a
forum for all stakeholders to communicate, connect and exchange trends in this
sector. BioAsia 2006 was successful in creating networking opportunities,
forging alliances and collaborations. It has rightly served the purpose of
showcasing the Genome Valley and reiterating its status as the biotech hub of
India."
More than 60 eminent scientists and business leaders, from
diverse backgrounds, presented and exchanged views on issues as myriad as
biofuels, clinical trials, investing opportunities in biotech, venture funding
et al. Amongst other topics that were discussed, special focus was on drug
licensing, leveraging logistics to enhance supply chain management in pharma and
biocluster development in India.
The exhibition stall of Saint Gobain Performance Plastic was
adjudged the best at the valedictory ceremony of BioAsia 2006. This was followed
by Pooja Lab Equipments and PharmaTech Scientific Systems taking the second
place and Sun Microsystems and Locus Enterprises sharing the third spot for the
best exhibition stalls.
Lakhmi Parthasarathy set the stage for the next year's
event by unveiling the website for BioAsia 2007, which will be held from
February 15-17 next year.
Narayan Kulkarni in Hyderabad
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