Dr. Anil Paul Kariath, chief operating officer, Sartorius India Pvt. Ltd. is of the opinion that the biotech engineering sector is expected to register phenomenal growth in the next five years. He has also expressed hope that knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) in bio-pharma engineering will witness significant business orders from US because of shortage of manpower and spiralling cost of personnel per hour. In an interview with Nandita Vijay, Dr. Kariath points out that training in KPO should be the prime focus to keep pace with the outsourcing business boom. Excerpts:
What are the key trends in biotech engineering scenario in India and globally?
Biotech engineering is set to grow significantly. A major development is the demand for outsourcing in the KPO sector in the engineering field related to biopharmaceuticals. The reason is that the cost of technical manpower in the US and Europe at approximately $ 70 to $80 per hour is exorbitant. India will stand to gain since adequate experienced professionals are available at a much lower cost. So there is a visible shift of a large number of contract jobs coming into India. Companies like Biozeen, a Bangalore-based research, training and consultancy major is gearing up to train people for KPOs at its 600-seat centre within the next two years. Trainees at Biozeen will be exclusively for KPO operations. These manpower resources at Biozeen would be cheaper than hiring people directly from the market. Several other companies like Aker Kværner and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. are also coming to India to start these operations and will definitely look for building up teams in India. It is also crucial to ensure that the engineers' knowledge is updated on par with the US regulatory markets.
Biozeen will also conduct courses on ASME BPE (Bio Process Engineering), to work for these markets. The training will include GMP compliance and regulatory standards applicable in the US and Europe. In the next 2 to 3 years, 2,000 to 3,000 bio-process engineers will be engaged productively in this country.
What is the kind of qualifications you are looking at?
A mandatory requirement is an engineering graduation in branches of chemical, mechanical, electrical and automation with exposure to biopharma industry or someone who is adequately trained. However, candidates with B Tech in Biotechnology or BE (Biotechnology) will also stand to gain.
What is the present market size of this segment?
Last year, investments in the biotechnology sector was Rs. 400 crore and this trend is expected to continue for the next five years. Around 10 per cent of the investments worth Rs. 40 crore come from engineering .
What are the problems encountered in this sector?
Lack of adequately trained manpower is a major concern and this needs to be seriously addressed both by academia and the industry. There is a need to disseminate specific training programmes for the scores of Biotech engineering graduates in the country who are prepared to take on challenges but lack the guidance. This is a serious impediment for the appropriate deployment of these people.
What are the challenges for the sector?
In the backdrop of developments in the biotech-engineering field, there are several challenges being thrown up for the industry in India. The offices of US Pharmacopoeia and USFDA are coming up in New Delhi and US Pharmacopoeia at Hyderabad. Out of the total applications for approval for USFDA, India ranks the highest after US and represent 14 per cent of the applicants. This number is expected to increase. The offices of US Pharmacopoeia and USFDA will provide the much-needed fillip to the industry. This has set the trend for leading global makers to explore possibilities to open a facility in India. Global majors are sceptical and apprehensive about China on the free market access and whether units there would adhere to total compliance. India stands to be recognised for quality production and its highest number of USFDA units in the Asian region.
In the wake of all these developments, what would be Sartorius' action plan?
Sartorius is gearing up to meet the challenges before it in terms of supplying equipment to the standards of regulated markets. Our certification of ASME makes us a qualified vendor. Biotech manufacturing units can save on capital costs and need not import compliant equipment
What about competition globally?
There is no problem about competition because we have successfully completed the Kitech project in Korea. We have already bagged an order from JBF for the core plant and have three or four enquires from this country. Korea is now becoming the hub of biotech and stem cell research The government is adequately supporting future investments here. The region will be recognised as a leading contract manufacturing base for US markets. It already has around 15 plants exclusively for US contract manufacturing jobs. In the next one-year, there will be around six new USFDA compliant plants. Sartorius India has aggressive strategies to grab a significant market share.