Over the last couple of years, Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the natural choice for biotechnology research, training and manufacturing activity, thanks to the incentives and initiatives from the State government. The government has long been doing its best to fund and appreciate the moves to turn the state into a hub of biotechnology activities.
The presence of research institutes with national and international repute and a large pool of scientific talent make this Indian state an ideal location for biotechnology and related pursuit. To add to this, with the investment in biotechnology expected to grow, there has been a lot of initiatives to enhance the biotechnology power of the state.
Referring to the government's countless efforts to revive the biotechnology industry in the state, Raveen k. Reddy, director of department of biotechnology, Andhra Pradesh, said, "the state government has allocated 300 acres of land for the phase III works of Shapoorji Pallonji Biotech Park to facilitate additional activities in Genome valley. The third phase is being developed by Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) and will be located at Karkapatla, Genome valley, he added.
The state government is planning to introduce its own biotechnology policy. Informed sources said that the government is awaiting clearance for the central biotechnology policy to bring in its own policy, in lines with the national policy.
Raveen Reddy said DuPont, one of the pharma majors, will be setting up its largest research and development centre in Hyderabad. The company will be investing nearly Rs.200 crore to set up the centre. As a result of persistent contacts the government has succeeded in persuading about 50 companies to set up their plants here, he added.
The state has a rosy story to tell about its biotechnology ventures. The ICICI Knowledge Park (IKP), with an estimated investment of Rs.7,224 crore, has nearly 20 companies, while Shapoorji Pallonji Biotech Park, with an investment of Rs.690 crore has strength of 33 companies. The companies have a workforce of more than 2,800 employees. The most attracting part of it is that the third phase is expected to create employment for more than 1,000 persons.
To further boost the development of biotechnology industry, the department of biotechnology has asked the government to increase the allocation for biotechnology sector to Rs.12 crore from Rs.10 crores in last fiscal year.
Looking ahead, the government is mulling over an international animal resource facility at Genome Valley in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). The proposed facility will
be vital for drug discovery companies to pursue preclinical research. The biotechnology incubation centre, which will be available for use from March 2007, will further foster the growth of incipient companies, providing specialized facilities at par with international standards.
The government is also planning a compendium of state biotech resources to facilitate dissemination of information to industry, academia, R&D institutions and society in general. The government expects this initiative to further strengthen the B2B interaction in the state. An integrated township for the scientist, employees and researchers of genome valley is in the pipeline. The proposed town will be spread around 32 acres of land with all required amenities.
With the state government already identified biotech as one of the growth engines,it is hoped that the sector is poised to achieve a substantial growth in years to come.