In order to ensure that biotech companies provide innovative technologies to better their research and production capabilities, the Department of Biotechnology has made efforts to devise the Small Business Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI) scheme to support small and medium size enterprises through grants and loans for pre-proof of concept and early stage innovative research. The Biotech Park infrastructure is also a support for start-up biotech companies to facilitate transfer of technology.
This year, Bangalore Bio 2007 calls to accelerate industry growth through innovation. Today, the Indian biotech sector is the third largest in the Asian region after Australia and China. It has the infrastructure and scientific temperament required to develop novel innovations.
"Multinational companies like Waters, Millipore, Sartorius, Agilent Technologies Life Sciences and Chemical Analysis (LSCA) and Pall Corporation have created centres of excellence in India for the biotech sector. These centers will have easy access to high-end test and measurement equipment and cutting-edge technology services to speed up drug discovery and related services," said Prof. MRS Rao, president, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.
Karnataka too is home to companies that are engaged in novel innovation. For instance, Biocon Limited holds a patent for its world's first plafractor technology, a unique bio-reactor for solid matrix fermentation used for the manufacture of a new class of immuno suppressant compounds useful for organ transplantation.
Avestha Gengraine Technologies Pvt. Ltd (Avesthagen), the drug discovery-driven life sciences company, received the Red Herring 100 Asia Winner 2006 for 'disruptive innovation' of a novel technology, which could eventually replace an existing dominant technology or product in the market. The company's business model revolves around a combination of intellectual property (IP), product development R&D services and collaborative research programmes, all of which are lucrative revenue streams.
For the start-up company Polyclone Biosciences, its innovation Eprime, a first-of-its-kind in the real-time bioinformatics market, is an application to design primers for qualitative PCR studies. The technology developed in Bangalore for cost-effective methods to retrieve, process and analyze genomic data is extensively used in the research/diagnostic market. It supports not only effective designing of primers and look for quantitative studies but also designs small interference oligos for gene expression studies. Polyclone tied up as the technology partner with the German instrumentation and consumables major Eppendorf India to market Eprime with every real time PCR instrument sold by globally.
The healthcare technology company ReaMetrix India Pvt. Ltd has indigenously developed the first-ever immuno-diagnostic assay 'accuford' Tri-T stat reagent kit to monitor CD4/CD8 T cells in HIV positive patients. The company has only imported raw material of the reagent from leading global gold standard suppliers.
Leading life sciences informatics company Strand Lifesciences has developed scores of innovative technologies for data mining, gene expression analysis and predictive modeling for drug discovery and development.
According to Dr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman and managing director, Biocon Limited, "Novel innovations are really what will build us into a credible force in the global biotech arena. But Indian biotech companies are just imitating the West for bio-similars. Only very few Indian biotech companies are investing in novel innovation. This is mainly because investors and analysts are as yet not comfortable backing innovation led business models. Our financial community lacks the muscle and maturity to invest in innovation. However companies like Glenmark and Biocon will provide the impetus to do so in the future."
"India is yet to see the benefits of innovation. If we observe closely, there is a substantial increase in patent filings in India since 2006. Most of these are in conceptual stage and many benefits are yet to be realized. Given the fact that government agencies like DBT, DST and TDB are actively pursuing innovation funding, the bandwagon has just started and one should give at least a few years to see the benefit of this in the industry. It is important to note that India is yet to contribute any significant technology/platform to the global biotech industry and most of the technology is imported from overseas including a number of important consumables. The focus currently seems to be the services sector and all the revenue potential is revolving around the cost benefit propositions and production/manufacturing capabilities," said, Naveen Kulkarni, CEO, Polyclone Biosciences.
Initiatives designed to boost innovation in the biotechnology sector need to be supported with education and infrastructure to establish strong biotechnology capabilities, noted Dr. Villoo Morawalla Patell, Founder and chairperson, Avesthagen.
The biotech sector in India, which covers around 280 companies, is set to touch US$ 5 billion in revenues by 2010. The leading companies are Bharat Biotech, Biocon, Dr Reddy's Lab, Panacea Biotech, Serum Institute, Shanta Biotech, Wockhardt and Zydus.
Focus is given to different aspects of the value chain, which includes vaccines, bio-generics EPO products, human insulin, interferons and G-CSF. Another point is that allocation for revenues for new technology development is only affordable by a handful of biotech companies and therefore innovation at a faster pace is a challenge, said Prof. G Padmanabhan, former director, Indian Institute of Science.
Emerging Trends
India is an accepted as the hub for collaborative R&D, bioinformatics, contract research and manufacturing and clinical research because companies comply with Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) and Good Clinical Practices (GCP), besides adopting novel innovative technologies.
Biotech companies are generating profits and making fresh investments. In Karnataka, Biocon has set up the Biocon Park at an investment of Rs. 650 crore and Avesthagen is setting up a modern research and production facility. Reliance Life Sciences will invest US $63.2 million for a stake in GeneMedix Plc UK, while Wockhardt has acquired Ireland-based Pinewood Laboratories, a branded generic pharmaceutical company for US $150 million.
Strand has been entering into agreements with global majors to support and integrate micro-array platform data. As companies are looking at technological innovations, the regulatory framework and patent regime are supporting the industry, noted Prof. Padmanabhan.
Innovations for the future
"The sector as a whole is a mix of several sub sectors and each one varies from the other considerably. The responsibility will be on the initial set of companies referred to as 'evangelist companies', like Biocon and Avesthagen which are building a positive outlook to the overall 'India story' and through them there is a serious momentum for the overall industry growth. Several factors are working together towards the growth of this sector and we have already seen that India is emerging as a major player in biotechnology, Naveen Kulkarni said.
"To be visible in the global biotechnology map, it is required to nurture innovation, product development and I mean not a drug molecule but platform technologies which enables discovery activities. It remains to be seen whether India can produce companies like Invitrogen, Illumina and the like. Such companies create an ecosystem for growth. Considering India is actively supporting stem cell research and the likes we hope to see India in the global biotechnology map with major breakthroughs," he added.