Bangalore Bio, a premier national biotech event, over the years has gained global recognition. In tune with this new-found status , Bangalore Bio India 2010 is witnessing participation from who's who of the international bio science arena. The brain child of the Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson Vision Group on Biotechnology, government of Karnataka and CMD, Biocon Ltd, the event has been largely supported by the tech savvy Karnataka Government since 2001. The event has grown from strength-to-strength and this has also resulted in the silicon city emerging as a bio cluster accounting for over half of bio-tech companies in India. In an exclusive interaction with Nandita Vijay, Shaw provides interesting insights of the forthcoming event. Excerpts:
Bangalore India Bio is 10 years old. How far has it fulfilled its objectives over this period. What are its tasks ahead?
Having completed 10 years is a big milestone for Bangalore Bio. I do believe that the event has certainly established its strong identity on the global biotechnology stage. The key objective of showcasing Karnataka and Bangalore's leadership in biotechnology has been met through the sustained participation of companies and countries. The exhibition and conference format has worked well for Bangalore Bio, attracting good sponsorship, delegate participation and quality speakers. Networking and partnering activity has been at peak levels over the years which is the true measure of all successful events.
This year the event has clashed with Global Investors Meet being held between June 3 and 4. Would this give a fillip to investments for the
sector?
We certainly hope this will be the case.
What according to you are the key features which make it a winner annually in terms of attracting exhibitors and visitors?
A growing interest in biotechnology as the next wave of growth is what will keep the event going. India is certainly seen to be a key hub for Biotechnology and there is a strong interest to forge partnerships. Bangalore Bio has been focusing on creating the event as an ideal platform for such partnering opportunities. As soon as Bangalore Helix develops into a vibrant cluster of domestic and international biotech companies, this will add to Bangalore's prowess. The presence of a large and diverse biotech businesses is an added dimension. Centres of academic excellence like National Centre for Biological Sciences, (NCBS), Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) also add to this.
Has the event participation been impacted by the wake of global crisis like weak dollar, and debt issues in the EU. ?
We have not seen any signs of receding interest in the event. In fact, the interest is only growing. There been no an impact in terms of visitor and exhibitor inflow from outside the state and country for the Bangalore Bio 2010 in the wake of the global economic slowdown.
While you have managed to inaugurate the Phase I of Bangalore Helix which will house both IBAB and Centre for Human Genetics, but Phase II is the most important from an economic stand point. What is the action plan on this front in terms of identifying the builder slating the ground work?
There has been a delay in implementing Phase II largely on account of legal and technical hitches associated with the selected private developer. The action plan is in place to finalize the private developer and I am confident that Phase II will go full steam ahead during the latter half of this year.
Coming to President Obama’s healthcare bill, would the positive effects of sourcing bio-generics extent to countries like India?
This should bode well for bio-generics. However, we are at least 3-5 years away from the commercial reality of bio-generics entering the US.
In the last few years, we have seen lot of drug development efforts and new product launches in insulin and vaccines from companies globally and India, how do you see the sector in 2012 based on the current expertise and pace of activity?
It will only grow. The United Nations has just passed a resolution for a Global Strategy Action Plan 2008-2013 for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which calls on global development initiatives to take into account the prevention and control of NCDs and raise the priority accorded to NCD in development work at global and national levels. This will certainly augment the need for drugs for diabetes, cardiology, kidney disease and cancer, many of which will emanate from biotechnology Eg. insulins, MAbs etc.
What according to you are the growth drivers of the biotech sector?
Healthcare reforms in the developed world, improving healthcare coverage in emerging markets, need for alternate energy given the challenges posed by climate change, need to augment agricultural productivity and the emerging trends in global outsourcing.