The International Biotech Park at Hinjewadi, Pune is likely to go in for a number of global tie-ups shortly. The tie-ups are expected with research & academic institutions, international BT parks, knowledge centres etc among others thus enabling Pune to emerge as a major biotech centre in India . according to sources in MIDC.

The park is also planning strategic alliances with other healthcare facilities for providing clinical trials , the sources added

Maharashtra has set up two large -scale BT Parks namely the International Biotech Park (IBP) at Pune and the Agri-Biotechnology Park at Jalna in a bid to attract more players- domestic as well as international companies to the state

Situated on the Expressway to Pune at Hinjewadi, 5 km from the city, the 136 acre IBP is a joint venture project between Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and TCG Real Estate at a total investment of approximately Rs 2250 million.

Global consultants Ernst & Young and Rabo India Finance were mandated by MIDC to find strategic investors and to attract investors for the park. They chose Kolkata-based Purnendu Chatterjee Group for the development of the park .The MoU was signed on May 12, 2003 and subsequently International Biotech Park Ltd was incorporated on July 9, 2003.

Thus TCG Urban Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. (TCGUIH) and MIDC became the partners for the IBP. While MIDC had 12 per cent share, TCGUIH held the balance 88 per cent in the venture. MIDC’s equity in the joint venture company was in the form of land. Besides this MIDC will actively provide infrastructure support services and assist the park in obtaining necessary government approvals. At the same time TCGUIH will develop, promote & market the park

TCG has proposed a "Dumbbell-strategy" for the park where there would be two anchor facilities at either end of the park. These facilities would be the core shared facility & medico clinical research facility. Space between the ends of the "Dumbbell" will have plots/ built up space for sale/lease to tenants.

Once completed ,the park will offer an excellent campus type, serene ambience and will be a non-polluting area adjacent to the IT Park – a key input for a knowledge industry. Park will also be giving a special thrust on bioinformatics

The basic infrastructure already completed are roads (main & inlet), water, power, etc. Otherrrrr infrastructure facilities include the common effluent treatment plant (CETP), water treatment plant (WTP), core shared facility (research centre, bioinformatics lab, genomics & proteomics lab, discovery labs---chemistry & bio labs, pre-clinical & clinical labs, analytical labs), business facilitation centre (health club, cafeteria, entertainment complex etc), residential complex, service apartments, built to suit units (tenant desired made to order units).

The project is of a nine -year duration spread over three phases of three years each. The duration of the project may be shortened depending upon the demand and market requirement.

Industries that have been targeted are pharma & BT companies clinical trial labs, contract research organizations (CRO's), bioinformatic centres, vaccine production units, analytical labs, medical centres etc.

At the same time, units already present in the park are Emcure (26 acres), Shreya Biotech (10 acres) and Venkateshwara Hatcheries (5 acres ) and have already purchased plots. Besides them, discussions with a lot of other reputed Indian companies and large-scale entrepreneurs are ongoing and moving towards finalization, sources added.

The cash-strapped Maharashtra government had eyed the sunrise sector of biotechnology on the one hand to tide over its fiscal problems and the other to tackle problems plaguing its health care delivery.

The state had viewed biotechnology as a key to improve the quality of life through better health and better environment. While biotechnology provides farmers with better, high yielding and drought & pest-resistant crops , a biotechnology park provides pharma companies and researchers with the ambience and infrastructure to develop affordable drugs and cheaper, effective technology.

Setting up of biotechnology parks ,which comes under the Maharashtra Biotechnology policy 2001, was an attempt by the state government to develop adequate infrastructural facilities to augment the biotechnology industry within the state. The key elements of the policy was to lead the biotechnology industry in the state to a growth path from where it can become globally competitive.

IBP has become the gateway to the vast pool of talent in the country and more specifically to Pune. The park offers world-class infrastructure and support facilities for business-driven research. The park is developing a knowledge network and an eco-system that would enable collaboration between academic and research institutions and the industry. A large number of colleges, research institutions in the Pune University will also be aiding development of research, apart from providing skilled manpower.

The park works closely with the research institutions and universities in that region to promote research and development in emerging areas of life sciences. The park offers to allot plots for research centres, pilot plants as per the requirements of the tenants. There is institutional connectivity both academic and industry and lastly physical infrastructure.

The main advantage of this park is that it is located in Pune, which is also considered the knowledge capital of the state and which houses a number of IT companies. Pune combines the advantage of a big city and a small city. A pleasant climate, high standards of living and proximity to Mumbai are factors contributing to Pune's growth. Specifically, the Mumbai-Pune corridor highlights the connectivity and confluence of BT with IT to provide a strong base to the emerging centre of excellence.

Pune is easily accessible from Mumbai, which is home to the biggest global pharmaceutical companies and having two seaports and one international airport to promote business and exports. Pune also offers an excellent lifestyle and a fast growing economy with high per capita income. The city is rated fifth among India’s best cities for doing business (BT-Gallup survey 2001).Moreover land, labour water, power etc is cheaply available at Pune.

The international standard biotech complex has many a high end, capital- intensive equipment and related sophisticated infrastructure for a smooth and cost -effective operation. Thus IBP is fast emerging as one of the finest biotech parks in the country surpassing international standards and setting new benchmarks in quality.