Biotechnology has proved to be one of the fastest growing sectors in India and is expected to play a key role in shaping the country’s  rapidly developing economy. The sector has been looking at  combating life threatening diseases, reduce  energy crisis and food scarcity which are among the serious  challenges globally.  These  issues which were  also hindering the growth of the country have led the biotech sector to advance its research and development capabilities and bring to the fore novel solutions like newer drugs and  advanced technologies to handle shortage of  fuel and food.

The sector which offers employment to 100, 000 people , has the potential to increase it to six to seven times in the coming years. It is optimally poised to deliver higher growth and introduce new products in 2013 which is seen as a year of immense possibilities.

Karnataka plays a crucial role in the biotech success story of India. The state accounts for over 50 per cent of the 300 biotech companies in India. It has also chipped in 50 per cent of the Rs.28,500 crore ($5 billion) generated by Indian biotech in 2012-13 contributed by the vaccines, diagnostics, drug delivery devices, biosimilars and bio fuels.

Of the 390 R&D companies in Bengaluru, biotech industry forms an integral part of the innovation. This importance to technology and the rising eminence of Bengaluru through the 13th edition of Bangalore India Bio cannot be ignored, said ISN Prasad, principal secretary, department of information technology, biotechnology and science & technology, government of Karnataka.

Like any year, the  Bangalore India Bio in its 13 edition is a proven platform for taking the biotechnology industry forward, added the principal secretary of IT, BT and S&T.

“Karnataka has created safe good biotechnology practices which could be shared with other states and also become a brand ambassador for the country. At this platform, the three -day event will see an  expression of  diverse views which could be converted into proposals to the union and state governments .We need to advocate good research, manufacturing and marketing practices  which is the foundation of economic prosperity and growth, said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson Vision Group on Biotechnology, government of Karnataka, Executive Committee member-Association of Biotechnology Led Entrepreneurs (ABLE) and CMD Biocon Limited.

“This event will now go to ensure the strengths of the biotechnology industry in India. On the occasion , three industry reports will  be unveiled and there will also a couple of collaborations to further boost the biotechnology capabilities,” she added.

Bangalore India Bio is the  largest gathering of the biotech fraternity  and is also taking place at a time when the Indian biotech sector is witnessing major changes. The expo which started in 2001 in Karnataka has come a long way as an ideal platform for leading international biotechnology sector and the Indian life sciences sector to collaborate for business growth and knowledge sharing . It also reflects the vast changes taking place. The platform helps showcase the emerging opportunities of the sector, said Jagdish Patankar, MM Activ Sci-Tec Communications.

The event has now grown in stature as it is most attended and interactive platform. This year too there are spectrum of various elements like synthetic biology, molecular biotechnology, bio informatics clinical trials, regenerative medicine, focus on innovation, bio-fuels, bio remediation and waster management for cleaner cities.

The theme of this year’s event which takes place from February 4-6 at the Hotel Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru is ‘Biotech For Better Tomorrow.’ The three-day event is being organized by the government of Karnataka department of IT, BT, S&T Vision Group on Biotechnology and MM Active .

The first day kicks off with an analysis by the Association of Biotechnology Led Entrepreneurs on biotechnology industry, deliberation on incubating innovation, a panel discussion on Indian’s challenges in being the preferred the global biotech hub.

There is also a CEO Conclave on the theme ‘Can India become a $100 billion biotech hub by 2025. There are also sessions on clinical trials to put away unnecessary fears about the conduct of human studies and ensuring a transparent system.

The day one of the event will also see Prof. K. Vijay Raghavan, secretary, department of biotechnology and former director, National Centre for Biological Sciences  talking on Existential Forces and the Future of Bio-Industry. The sessions will include Incubating Innovation, Analysis of ABLE Report on ‘Indian Biotechnology: The roadmap to the Next Decade and beyond’, Fireside Chat on ‘India’s Challenges in being the preferred Global Biotech Hub’.There will also be a Round Table on ‘Biosimilar Guidelines for Development of Safe, Affordable and Efficacious Biosimilars for the World’.

The event will consist of Multi-Track Conference, International Trade Show, Bio Partnering, Vision Leadership Series & Plenary Talks, CEO Conclave, Poster Session, Bio Quiz and Bio- Excellence Awards.

It will see participation from over 20 countries including states of Georgia, Atlanta, Missouri from USA, Germany, France, UK, Holland, Spain, Italy, Korea, US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. Most of the progressive biotech states of India will be represented by their leading industries as well as their senior policy- makers. There will be participation from every segment of the Bangalore biotech cluster as well.

Several memorandum of understanding pacts will be inked for collaboration and teaming up with experts to take the developments forward for Indian companies.  The future depends on newer economies and this is where India would be able to play a role in shaping up as an emerging bio-economy of the future, added Shaw.

There will be a  large participation of international delegations from over 20 countries including Scotland, USA (Georgia), Canada (Alberta) & Australia (Victoria) and also from Atlanta, Missouri from USA, Germany, UAE, France, UK, Mexico, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore and European and South East Asia countries which will give a further boost to cross-border partnerships. International MoU’s, technical tie-ups and business collaborations agreements will be signed during the three-day event between international participants and the Indian life science fraternity.

The Scottish Development International (SDI) led by  Anne MacColl, CEO, Scottish Development International, Scotland and Department of Economic Development, Atlanta, Georgia, USA led by Mark Lytle, Division Director, Georgia Centers of Innovation; Georgia, Department of Economic Development, Atlanta, Georgia, USA will be signing MoU with Karnataka Biotechnology and Information Services (KBITS) paving way for better knowledge exchange and trade relations  with the two nations.

The International Conference will be focusing on partnering & deal making trends, biosimilars, regenerative medicine, molecular biotechnology & bio informatics, vaccines and clinical research.

Topics such as market in India, regenerative medicine technologies that enables novel therapies, next generation sequencing (NGS)  technologies & data analysis in biopharmaceuticals, vaccines to village - high risk areas, hard to reach terrain, technical challenges, global clinical trials – preferred partnerships and innovation & commercialization in bio-fuels & bio-energy in India will also be deliberated upon.

The International Trade Show will be the largest congregation of biotech fraternity for meaningful interactions and business. Leading exhibitors from all over the country, from various verticals like biopharmaceuticals, bio-suppliers, bio-informatics, bio-medical devices companies etc., will participate. All the major biotech states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh etc and leading R & D organizations like CSIR, DST, DBT, DRDO, ICMR are expected to participate in the event.

BioPartnering, one of the key features of Bangalore India Bio ,offers a unique platform for delegates to scout for partnering opportunities with the global biotech community. The BioPartnering India initiative in 2012 received phenomenal response and over 300 B2B meetings were facilitated. The same response is expected this year said the organizers.

CEO CONCLAVE focussing on theme “Can India become a  $100 billion  Biotech Hub by 2025" will bring industry leaders from the life sciences sector like  Shaw,  Managing Director, Quintiles India; Dr. Pradeep Ramayya, Co-founder & CEO, AxSys Technology Limited, Scotland; Ms. Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, Managing Director & CEO, IKP Knowledge Park; Dr. Ajith V. Kamath, Head, Strategic Research Partnerships, India; External R&D Innovation, Worldwide Research & Development, Pfizer Inc.

The Agri and Industrial Biotechnology Track will have plenary session on agribiotechnology to herald India’s second green revolution, biofuels & bioremediation. Aspiring bio-entrepreneurs and researchers can look forward to the Workshop on: "Bio-preneurship: Journeys, learnings and policy implications in the Indian context” by NSRCL- IIM Bangalore which will explore entrepreneurial opportunities in biotechnology.

The platform  will help in leveraging new partnership opportunities for the participating organizations to schedule B2B meetings through the Bio Partnering tool – InterlinX.

Bio Excellence Awards will recognize contribution of eminent personalities from established and start up companies for their outstanding performance and contribution in the sector of life sciences.

The Poster Session will provide a wonderful platform for Young Researchers and Scientists from industry, research institutions and academia to present innovative ideas, outstanding research or path-breaking study in the field of biotechnology.

Another important highlight of the event is the Grand Finale of ‘BioQuiz 2013’- the largest state level biotech quiz with the participation of over 800 students. The best teams from regional rounds conducted at districts like Mysore, Mangalore, Belgaum and Bangalore would compete for the title at Grand finale of BIO Quiz 2013 and the winners will be felicitated by the former Team India cricketer Anil Kumble, who will be the guest of honour at the programme.

According to Shaw, India needs to portray its robust regulatory framework and ethics guidelines to communicate with many international companies about the stringent standards adhered to by the industry in the country. Companies need to tailor their business models, their product portfolios and their core capabilities.

Dr. Vijay Chandru, Chairman & CEO, Strand Life Sciences; Shrikumar Suryanarayan, Chairman and Co-founder, Sea6 Energy Pvt. Ltd.; Honorary Director-General, ABLE; Dr. Sudhir Nambiar, Managing Director, AstraZeneca India Pvt. Ltd.; Anil Raghavan, Bangalore India Bio will prove to be  the hub of action for possible collaboration, co-product development, joint marketing and research efforts.

Some of the examples of strategic collaboration has been of Biocon and Strand Lifesciences . Biocon has partnered with Mylan, , Bristrol Myers Squibb , Abbot, Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM), based in Havana, Cuba to name a few.

In the case of Strand, Trovagene, Inc. completed their agreement for the latter’s proprietary urine-based Human Papillomavirus (HPV) test.

In the previous edition, there were 20 conference sessions and 95 speakers from 20 different countries and over 500 delegates from 450 companies attended the conference. There were 80 exhibitors in the trade show. About 450 organizations from the biotech sector participated and it attracted over 3000 business visitors. Business delegations from Pennsylvania, Georgia, Germany and UKTI participated with their member companies in a big way.

"The future of biotechnology in India lies in bio manufacturing and research. We have the expertise and global players are not just looking at the cost advantage but the capability to outsource on high-end research and development. For the growth of the sector further, the concept of a secondary stock exchange will be the only answer,"  Shaw informed.