Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Bhavnagar

Craving for the Biotech Edge

After missing the information technology train in the 1990s, Gujarat is aiming for a slot in the biotech segment, banking on its strengths in chemicals, pharmaceuticals and dairying.

The state government has identified healthcare and pharmaceuticals, agricultural biotechnology, industrial enzymes, bioinformatics, contract research, marine and environmental biotechnology as the thrust areas in biotechnology.

Arvind Kushwah, research executive, Indus Biotheraputics, a leading company in Ahmedabad said, "Looking at the opportunity and available resources in the state we see good growth for biotechnology. Although the industry in the state is still in a nascent stage, it will pick up as many institutions are offering biotechnology courses. The government is also considering setting up of Biotech Park."

Added Rajesh Kishore, secretary, department of science and technology, government of Gujarat, " We are still working on the policy. Once it is ready other things will follow."

The government has appointed a committee to prepare a draft biotech policy which the industry is interested in and is expected to place its report before the industry in a couple of months for its suggestion and comments.

Institutional support

Besides the leading universities in the state, the CSIR-run Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) in Bhavnagar is the anchor for the biotech research activities in Gujarat. The state is keen to develop expertise in marine biotechnology in a big way with CSMCRI’s help. The institute, established in 1954 , is currently working on R & D activities focusing on areas such as inorganic chemicals, catalysis and new materials, membrane science and separation technology and biosalinity.

Kishore informed BioSpectrum that, "the government is discussing with CSMCRI for setting up a center of excellence in marine biotechnology at the institute. The government is also eager to give matching grant for setting up the center." Besides universities like Gujarat Agricultural University, MS University, Sardar Patel University and Saurashtra University are also providing the basic scientific knowledge in biotechnology to the student community.

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), the world’s largest dairy development program, based in Anand near Vadodara, is carrying out extensive research and development activities in biotechnology. It aims to develop formulations and technologies useful for improving the productivity of milch animals. In 1979, the Dairy Board set up an animal disease diagnostic laboratory at Anand to undertake scientific research activities. NDDB has expanded its research activities to include animal genetics, animal health and animal nutrition for supporting its productivity enhancement program for dairy cooperatives.

NDDB also offers consultancy services and training programs to breeding organizations, cattle feed plants, disease diagnostic laboratories, vaccine manufacturing units as well as to national and international governmental and non-governmental organizations. Training is offered in the areas of cytogenetics, molecular genetics, embryo transfer, animal feed formulations, clinical diagnosis, control of parasitic diseases and other related areas of biotechnology.

Industry leaders

Gujarat is home to many leading drug companies like Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Cipla, Zydus Cadila, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Torrent Biotech, Sarabhai -Piramal, Maps India, Gujarat Life Sciences, Gujarat State Fertilizers Cooperation, Sun Agri and Gujarat Narmada Fertilizer Corporation to name a few. Most of these companies have set up biotechnology divisions to develop biopharma drugs. These companies are based in and around Ahmedabad and Vadodara.

Sarabhai Piramal Pharmaceuticals Private Ltd., a joint venture between Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises Ltd and Nicholas Piramal India Ltd has been gathering rapid momentum within a short span of time. The focus of this venture is the search for newer molecules. Gujarat Life Sciences Pvt Ltd (GLS), a company based at Vadodara is also actively involved in biotechnology. Its focus is on agricultural and environmental biotechnology, biofertilizers, biocomposting, effluent treatment using bio-towers technology. It has entered into a joint association with the Gujarat Agriculture University whereby the research work carried out at the university will be transferred to GLS for development and subsequent commercialization.

Maps is another key biotechnology company in Gujarat. From its humble beginning in 1975, it has become a respected and dynamic pillar of the enzyme industry. Today it is one of the Top 1000 national private business groups in India. It supplies high-quality industrial enzymes to a profuse variety of industries in India and abroad.

Mumbai-Pune

Aiming for the Bio-Future

The nation’s commercial hub is aiming to consolidate its position in the ‘bio-future’ with emphasis on biotechnology in a big way. The state derives its confidence to be a leader in biotechnology based on its diverse strengths. These strengths include its human resource, the excellence of its private and public institutions, the infrastructure and a conducive business environment as well as the inherent strength of its industry.

The state’s history of biotechnology engagement goes back to the 19th century when The Haffkine Institute was set up in 1899 in Mumbai. In 2003, the state has 4,100 registered pharmaceutical manufacturers out of the total of 20,053 in India and contributes about 40 percent of the sector’s total turn over. Many international companies have shown their preference to the state. The list includes GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, Aventis, Knoll. India’s top biotech venture capital company, ICICI Ventures is also based in Mumbai.

Major Indian companies such as Reliance Life Sciences, Wockhardt, Cipla, Lupin, Nicholas Piramal, SIRO Clinpharm are also marching forward into the frontline areas of biotechnology such as stem cells, new drug discovery, clinical trails, novel technologies and recombinant biotechnology. Wockhardt has entered biopharmaceuticals. Whereas Lupin and Nicholas Piramal are moving in a major way in innovative drug research, Reliance Life Sciences has made forays into stem cell research. SIRO Clinpharm has taken up clinical trial studies for multinational clients.

Modern biomedical research requires a chain of hospitals and clinics ot establish clinical research organizations. Some of the best hospitals in India are located in Maharashtra, giving that extra support and impetus for conducting clinical trials of global standards. "Maharashtra is the first state to look at the clinical trials. The state has vast infrastructure facility in public health sector with over 1.2 lakh patients visiting the civil hospitals on daily basis. We are working with the health department and pharmaceutical companies to take up clinical trials in a big way," said Vishwas S Dhumal, principal secretary, industries, Government of Maharashtra.

The state has an excellent intellectual infrastructure. Through nearly 1000 institutions, it produces around 163,000 trained technical personnel each year. The state has already set up specialized parks for different sections including IT and is working on to set up BT parks at Hinjawadi near Pune and Jalna near Aurangabad. The bio-industrial enterprises cannot sustain themselves unless they are backed up by a highly trained and skilled human resource. Some of the centers of excellence in India that are present in Maharashtra do precisely that. These include the Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Indian Institute of Technology, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, University Department of Chemical Technology of Mumbai University, Cancer Research Institute and Kelkar’s Education Trust’s Scientific Research Center .

Pune

In 1954, Pune created a landmark in biotechnology by becoming the first Indian city to have a company producing penicillin, the Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd. The plant was then the largest producer of penicillin in Asia. The vaccines produced by Serum Institute of India Ltd, the foremost and the largest manufacturer of vaccines, sera and biologicals in India, reach every one out of four children in the world. The Venkateshwara Hatcheries group is the largest producer of poultry vaccines in India. Apart from these, Pune has also housed firms like Alfa Laval India, Praj Industries, SciNova Informatics and Persistent Systems which are major suppliers to the biotechnology industry.

The state government has signed up with Kolkata-based The Chatterjee Group to develop, promote and market the Hinjawadi pharma biotech park, Pune. The group will focus on facilities required for start-ups and companies which plan to manufacturing efficiencies of their product lines. Emcure has already commenced the formulation process while Shreya Life Sciences has taken up land at the park.

"We want to leverage on IT potential with the BT to create platform for bioinformatics sector at Pune. Like biopharma the scope and opportunity for bioinformatics is also huge," said Dhumal.

Tata Consultancy Services, which has a unit in IT park in Pune is strongly looking at setting up their bioinformatics section in the state. Aditya P Sethi, senior manager, marketing, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation informed that other IT majors that have presence in Pune IT park like Infosys and Wipro are also considering setting up of bioinformatics units at BT park in Pune.

To provide support and to meet the industry needs the government has established University of Pune as the center of excellence in biotechnology. Other life science and biotechnology institutes which are based in Pune, include the National Center for Cell Science, National Institute of Virology, National Chemical Laboratory, National Aids Research Institute, Agharkar Research Institute, Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Institute of Environment Education & Research and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Information Technology & Biotechnology, Vasant Dada Sugar Institute and University of Pune.

The Animal Diseases Investigations Laboratory, Pune involved in diagnosis and research of animal diseases, especially in four states of the western region of the country, has been recognized as a reference laboratory by the central government . New forward-looking initiatives in providing specialized education in biotechnology, such as by the Vidya Pratisthan’s School in biotechnology, have already begun to emerge.

India’s seed capital - Aurangabad

Bio-agriculture has strengthened its roots in the state through one of the largest seed producing companies, Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (Mahyco) that produces and markets a broad range of quality seeds developed with biotechnology. Currently, it is engaged in conducting field trials of transgenic seeds in collaboration with a multinational company, Monsanto.

"We see great scope in agri biotechnology, as Maharashtra is known for its horticulture sector. To promote agri biotechnology at Jalna in Aurangabad - the seed capital of India - we have appointed Mahyco, the first company to launch Bt cotton in India," added Dhumal. Mahyco is talking to Indian as well as foreign agriculture universities to up grade the knowledge and research activities in the state and to get the right support the industry is looking at in the areas of bio fertilizer, bio pesticides, veterinary health and herbicides.

"In the Jalna-Aurangabad belt companies like Syngenta, Seminis, Monsanto, Mahendra Hybrid Seeds, Nath Seeds and Ajeet Seeds Ltd have already set up their units in bioagricutlure sector," informed Sethi.

Components of biotechnology in the form of tissue culture, bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides have already gained popularity in the state. As many as 21 tissue culture laboratories have been set up in the Maharashtra. The state’s agriculture universities have made considerable headway in the field. The development of molecular techniques has been initiated. Various research projects are in progress and biotechnology forms a part of the curriculum at all levels of study in state agriculture universities.

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