Biotechnology has been identified as one of the growth engines for the emerging corporate India. The country's biotechnology sector, currentlycontributesonly a mere 1 per cent to the global biotechnology market, however, it is poised for an exponential growth over the next five years with an expected global market share of 10 per cent.
The industry comprises mainly of pure biotechnology start-ups and large estab-lished companies in pharmaceuticals, agriculture and information technology. Market leaders in this industry are Shantha Biotechnics, Biocon, Bharat Biotech, Wockhardt, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Serum Institute of India, Zydus Cadila, Aventis Pharma, Rhein Biotech and Reliance Life Sciences.
According to a study by Rabo, India FinanceLtd, the market for modern biotechnology products and services in India is nearly USD 150 million for the year 2002, of which about 40 per cent are estimated to be export revenues. The consumption of biotech products in India is estimated to grow ten-fold to USD 1.5 billion by 2007 and to USD 4.5 billion by 2010.
For the last two decades, India has developed an adequate infrastructure and trained manpower in modern as well as classical biotechnology. Currently India has about 200 government laboratories and several private research institutions, with state-of-the-art equipment and facili-ties for modern biotechnology research. These institutions have been quite active in transferring technology to industry for scale-up, validation and commercialization.
At present, there are more than 800 firms in India indulged in biotechnology related activities, according to industry estimates, about l0 per centof these companies are operating in modern biotech sectors whereas remaining are operating in conventional biotechnology. A recent survey by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) indicates that there are about 160 registered biotechnology companies in India, of which 60 (about 37.5 percent) are engaged in recombinant and molecular biotechnology.
Further, the survey establishes that about 50 per cent of the registered biotech companies are located in Bangalore and Hyderabad and that 75 per cent of these companies have been incorporated in the last five years alone.
The key markets for Indian biotechnology sector include enzymes, vaccines, diagnostics, veterinary products,agri-biotech products Thecountry has also becomeone of the most favoured destinations for collaborations in R&D, bioinformatics, contract research, manufacturing, clinical research etc.
India's Pharma Industry
India's biotech industry is much smaller compared to its pharmaceuticals industry, whose activities are concentrated within the large pharmaceuticals or agricultural companies. The Indian pharmaceutical sector is highly fragmented with over 20,000 registered units Out of this, the top 200-250 companies control nearly 70 per cent of thethe market The market share of MNCs has fallen from 75 per centin 1971 to around 30 per cent now.
The current domestic pharmaceutical industry sales are in the region of US $ 3.54 billion which accounts for a little over1 per cent of the global market. Of this formations account for 81.5 per cent and the remaining 18.5 per cent is active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The industry has also witnessed a 5-fold increase in the import of APIs, chemicals andsolvents over the past one decade.
Hyderabad: The venue
The capital city of India's emerging state Andhra Pradesh, well deserves to be the ideal venue to hostthe convergence event of biotech and pharmaceutical industry. In more than one respect- Besides being the ``bulk drug capital'' of the country, the city houses agood number ofbiotech centres as well in and around its premises.
The government of Andhra Pradesh has set up a Know-ledge Park near Hyderabad in collaboration with ICICI. Hyderabad. Academic institutions such as Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB), The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), National Institution of Nutrition (NIN), Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnosis (CDFD), Osmania University and biotechnology companies such as Shantha Biotechnics, Bharat Biotech, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories & Biological Evans forming the industrial backbone.Recently, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has announced the establishment of "The Genome Valley", which will focus on Genomics based R&D.
The 4-day event which starts from 24th September '03,will showcase Indian expertise in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. It also aims to create awareness of new opportunities; facilitate national and international collaborations; convergence of technology suppliers and buyers; R&D institutions and industry; equipment suppliers and buyers; new products and new markets; venture capitalists a and technocrats etc
The biotechnology conference will highlight new horizons in biotech research; emerging technologies and markets; biotech parks and other infrastructure;biosafety and other regulations and biopartenering presentations. BiotechConsortium of India Ltd (BCIL), will organize this session.
The Biotec India International 2003 exhibitors profile include:equipment and instruments for R&D;Bioprocess Equipment; Biotech Services; Green houses; Biotechnology Applications; Bioinformatics; Chemical and consumables ; Support Services.Whearas for Pharma India 2003 Bulk drugs; Drug Formulations; Drug Intermediates; Tabletting and Capsulation Unit; Pharma Plant and Machinery; Packaging Materials; Analytical Instruments and Lab Reagents;Testing Equipment; Glassware (Borosilicate/Industrial); Microscopes; Weighing Machines; Pharma Research Institutions and Pharma Publications.
Both the events are expected to attract visitors from agri and food industry, research associations/educational institutions, medical industry, pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology specialists, products & services users, research personnel, technology suppliers & technology seekers, CEO's and technocrats,veture cpitalists/fnancial institutions as well as pharmacists, R&D professionals, equipment suppliers & distributors, medical professionals, biotechnology specialists, policy makers and foreign delegations.
Concurrent to the Show will be Interkama.India 2003, an international exhibition on processand Manufacturing Automation, Integrated IT Solutions.
Biotec India International 2003 and PharmaIndia2003 are presented and managed by Messe Dusseldorf GmpH, with Indian subsidiary -CIDEX trade fairs Pvt Ltd.