The Three-day international Biotech Invest-2003 in Hyderabad concluded on Sunday on a hopeful note with the signing of eight major investment proposals (MoUs) worth Rs 100 crore totally. The MoUs were signed in the presence of B Gopalakrishna Reddy, Minister for Biotechnology and SSI, and B P Acharya, Secretary, Industries and Commerce. The conference was organised jointly by the Federation of AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPPCI) and All-India Biotech Association, Southern Chapter.
Giving details of the MoUs, Chandrasekhar Reddy, Executive Director of the AP Industrial Development Corporation (APIDC) Venture Fund, said another five MoUs would be signed in the coming weeks as a result of the inter-active meetings held during the conference. The MoUs mainly covered the areas of transfer of technology in drug development, clinical trials and nanotechnology, production facilities for bioengineering and instrumentation, and data management services.
Out of the 8 MoUs, the US-based BT International Limited Liability Company signed as many as four. They included three with Hyderabad-based biotech companies -- DRS Systems, Biowise Knowledgs Services, Sipra Laboratories --- and another with the All-India Biotech Association (AIBA). BTI would be signing one more MoU with Magene Life Services, for which negotiations were underway.
Under the BTI-DRS agreement, the US firm will provide guidelines for the setting up of a data management components for clinical trials. The BTI-Biowise agreement will enable the city firm to get placement opportunity in the US to students trained in biotechnology. Under the BTI-Sipra agreement, the US firm will help Sipra get additional contract research and also enhance clinical trials. And in the other agreement, BTI would have wide-ranging cooperation with AIBA to facilitate entrepreneurship and research among its members.
BTI is an international consortium based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, whose focus is to act as a bridge between the American biotech / pharmaceutical and life sciences industry and the emerging markets internationally. BTI is a diverse group of experts in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, conventional and alternative medicines and finance. It specialises in the development and commercialisation of life science technologies and initiatives. The company was represented at the conference and signing of the MoUs by Chacko Verghese, Managing Director.
The major project for which a MoU was signed was the one between Novo Tera Foundation of USA and Genotex India for transfer of technology for products and processes in the area of human, animal and plant health, specifically in the areas of cancer and infectious diseases. Nova Tera's associate, Catalyst, will transfer patterns and technology worth Rs 5 crore. Genotex would invest a matching sum as part of the first phase of the Rs 50-crore project.
The US-based EFS Systems and Hyderabad-based Biotech major Shanta Biotechnics had signed a MoU for collaboration in business and research on current molecules for new therapies. EFS would also license technologies for a variety of products. The Best of Korea from Seoul and Indo Systems International will jointly set up a production unit in Hyderabad to supply equipment like fermenters and bioreactors to the BT firms in the country.
CiVenti Chem of the US forged an alliance with Otira Pharmaceuticals. Under the agreement, CiVenti will market Otira's Acetamide in the US and will also help Otira develop process technologies for production of intermediaries.
Addressing the valedictory session, Biotechnology Minister B Gopalakrishna Reddy asked the organisers to make such conferences an annual event in order to attract foreign investment and sign as many MoUs as possible. The unique aspect of the conference was that it provided an ideal platform for exchange of information and knowledge through one-to-one inter-active sessions between the seekers and providers in the emerging field of biotechnology. This was the first time that such a format was followed in a biotechnology conference.
Another key feature of the conference was the participation by teams of delegates from the US, Canada and the UK who were conducting leading-edge research in the field of Vitamin D and the role of Vitamin D Analogs as therapeutic and curative agents in the treatment of psoriasis, hyperthyroidism, arthritis, osteoporosis and cancer. The session was led by Dr Satya Reddy, Brown University, Rhode Island, USA.
The session covering discussions on Vitamin D was dedicated to the memory of world renowned scientist from the state, Dr Yellapragada Subba Row. The conference was attended by more than 200 delegates, including entrepreneurs and representatives from 26 companies from the US, UK, Australia, Israel, South Korea and Canada. Scientists from research organisations, clinicians and students also participated in the discussions on the main theme of the conference, 'Strategic Alliances and Business Opportunities.'