Karnataka, particularly Bangalore, has witnessed a sea change in the biotechnology sector in recent years. The growth and development of the sector is largely attributed to the annual biotechnology event Bangalore Bio which is in its sixth edition this year. The event has also seen the capital city Bangalore transforming as the fastest growing bio-cluster in the country with 150 companies setting base here as against the total number of units in the country which is pegged at 300.
The sector is also registering over 50 percent annual growth rate, which is more than the national rate of 40 percent. It has also attracted the maximum venture capital funding in the country in 2005 which is around $100 million. The state's biotech sector has received an investment of $400 million between April 2005 and March 2006 with an additional 27 companies setting base here. Out of the 150 -biotech companies in the state, 140 of them are located in Bangalore.
The focus of at least 30 per cent of biotech companies has been on bio-engineering while 18 per cent focuses on agriculture and 17 per cent on research and 13 per cent on bioinformatics, stated sources in the department of information technology and biotechnology, government of Karnataka.
There is no doubt that Karnataka is fast emerging as a biotech destination and perhaps it has the highest number of biotech units located The main aim of the Bangalore Bio is to shape the direction and growth of the biotech industry in the state, pointed out Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson, Vision Group on Biotechnology in Karnataka and chairman- managing director, Biocon Limited.
Biotechnology is on a third gear and ample development are visible and it is clear indication that the sector is a growth driver of the state economy, stated Sudhir Kant, president, Millipore India, who added that Bangalore Bio event needs to be reformatted to focus on hard core business development.
"There is a great potential in the biotech sector and events like Bangalore Bio are excellent platforms for B2B interactions and networking to increase business," stated Dr. Anil Kariath, director, Biozeen a division of the Bangalore Biotech Labs and former managing director, Sartorius India.
Despite all the progress and visibility, Shaw opined that investment in biotech continues to remain inadequate, venture funding is scarce, infrastructure is expensive and regulatory regimes are yet to be defined although there are several initiatives by the Union and state government to put these issues in on the right track. Despite this difficult environment, bio entrepreneurs are unflinchingly setting up new ventures signifying the intrinsic belief in biotechnology being the business of the future," informed Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
In Karnataka, most of the biotech activities are concentrated in and around Bangalore. The city, has been the nucleus of a large number of biotech companies: Biocon India Group, Bangalore Genei Pvt. Ltd., AstraZeneca Research India Centre, Bhat Biotech, XCyton Diagnostics Pvt. Ltd., Vittal Mallya Scientific Research Foundation, Molecular Connections, ReaMetrix, Gangagen Biotechnologies, Bangalore Genei (part of Sanmar Group in Chennai), Advenius, Polyclone Bioservices and Sami Labs.
In the genomics software development area there are players like Strand Genomics, Genotypic Technologies and SysArris. Biotechnology engineering companies like Sartorius India and Lab equipment specialists like Millipore and Waters also play a vital role to give a boost to the sector in terms of setting up bio reactors for vaccine production and supply of critical equipment for research like high performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis products enable quick research analysis.
In addition, premier research institutes like Indian Institute of Science, National Centre for Biological Science, JNU Centre for Advanced Studies in Biotechnology gives a fillip to biotech projects of the State government. The Government of Karnataka's Millennium Biotech Policy, and the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB) are some of the initiatives that strengthen the state's position in biotechnology activities.
Bangalore in the last three years has seen significant research investments from Sami Labs, Avesthagen, Advenius, ReaMetrix, AstraZencea Research Foundation India and Gangagen Biotechnologies. The city is also becoming a hub for contract research and clinical trials apart from research process outsourcing.
According to. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Bangalore exudes an intellectual aura with the presence of IISc, NCBS and JNCAR. There is vast pool of qualified scientific workforce generated from the pharmacy biotechnology, medicine and other basic science colleges. Together with the scientific acumen is the state-of-the-art infrastructure of both industry and institutes which provides the backbone to support the biotech sector to grow.
While India is one of the biggest business opportunities for bio-technology in healthcare and pharmaceuticals, on account of its huge disease population, Karnataka is emerging to be the bio-power of the country with its qualified personnel and innovative research and manufacturing efforts, averred Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. The future of biotechnology in Karnataka holds immense potential if the biotech firms tap the big growth avenues to develop drugs for rare diseases, added Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.