There can be no better person than Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, to take charge of biotechnology activities in Karnataka. As the chairperson and managing director of Biocon India Limited and its subsidiaries: Biochemizyme India Limited, Biocon Quest India Limited, Syngene International Private Limited, Helix Biotech Private Limited and Clinigene International, Shaw''s aggressive strategies and forward integration policies have made it a promising and profitable enzymes and bio-pharmaceuticals Group. As India''s first woman entrepreneur in biotechnology, Shaw''s strategic competence, acumen and diligence has helped the Biocon India Group emerge as a statin major and a core bio-tech research enterprise in the global arena. According to Shaw, although India''s position in biotechnology is insignificant in the international market, she avers that that India is one of the biggest business opportunities for biotechnology in healthcare and agriculture and Karnataka is playing a crucial role in this sector with the presence of biotech units in the State. Her efforts in Biotechnology have brought many awards, the most prestigious being the Padma Shri in 1989. This apart, the government of Karnataka appointed her as the head of the Vision Group in the State for biotechnology. She is also the Honorary Consul of Ireland for pharma biotech ventures between the two countries. A connoisseur of arts and artefacts, Shaw recently proved her excellence with the pen releasing her maiden book on beer titled ''Ale and Arty''. In an interview with Nandita Vijay of Pharmabiz.com, Shaw gives an insight on Biocon''s technology edge and her observations on biotech growth in India and Karnataka.

As a two-decade-old company in the biotechnology sector what would be Biocon''s efforts in commercialisation of its statins?

We have already commercialised all our statins viz. Lovastatin, Simvastatin,Pravastatin and Atorvastatin. What''s more is that we have filed for several patents in each of these statins. We also had a successful US FDA audit for Lovastatin, which basically means that we are one of four companies globally which will be able to sell into the US market as soon as the Lovastatin patent expires in December 2001. Incidentally we hold a unique patent for Lovastatin manufacture.

Which of your strategic activities- enzymes, pharma bulk actives and R&D is most successful?

R&D is core to both enzymes and bio-pharmaceuticals. I believe have been enormously successful in terms of R&D in both the sectors.

What is the technology edge that makes Biocon stand apart?

It is the expertise that we have developed in fermentation as well as the knowledge that we have acquired in microbial biodiversity that sets us apart. Our integrated and multifaceted fermentation capabilities is fairly unique in a global sense and given our strong R&D culture, we believe that we can keep pace with the emerging trends in Biotechnology. We have also developed a very strong Patent division, which is another major differentiator.

Sources from the biotech industry state that Biocon would soon be a global statin major. Please comment.

That is absolutely correct. The capacities that we are building for statin production will, over the years, make us a significant if not the dominant player in the statin market globally. Our next immediate foray is in the area of recombinant technologies for the production of a number of bioactives in the healthcare sector. We will announce the range of these products shortly.

Another major initiative that will bear fruit very soon is in the area of clinical studies where we hope to identify some new biomarkers for a host of diseases. In addition, we hope to use these skills very Strategically in mining very valuable pharmacogenomic data pertaining to drug response.

Perhaps the most ambitious and exciting goal we have set ourselves is in the area of drug discovery where we are very close to announcing a new drug molecule and a revolutionary new source for Taxol, an anti-cancer drug.

What is the position of Karnataka in biotechnology?

I believe Karnataka already enjoys leadership in this sector by virtue of having the most prestigious academic institutions like Indian Institute of Science [IISc], National Centre for Biological Sciences [NCBS], Jawaharlal Nehru Centre, University of Agricultural Sciences [UAS] and even Central Food Test Research Institute [CFTRI]. In addition Karnataka is home to Biocon, Bangalore Genei, Indo-American Hybrid Seeds, Greenearth Technologies, Avestha Biotech, DSQ Biotech and others, which represents the most impressive and formidable cross section of Biotechnology companies countrywide. Crowning this is the fact that the Government of Karnataka is extremely proactive in terms of its Biotech aspirations. We want to have the best not the first Biotechnology Policy in the country.

There have been only announcements by the Vision Group like setting up biotech park, corridor, or even the setting up of the Institute of Biotechnology and Applied Information [IBAI] etc. How soon would all this come up?

The IBAB (Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology) is scheduled to start in January 2001. The GOK will announce the Biotechnology Policy in January 2001. So I think we have achieved many of our objectives in the desired time frame. The Ministry of Agriculture, Karnataka has also taken a lead in embracing Biotechnology in a pragmatic manner. We are also hosting the first International Symposium on Bioinformatics and Genomics from Jan 14-17 in Bangalore (check our site http://www.biocon.com for details about this symposium). The Government of Karnataka has also declared April 15 as an annual calendar date for BangaloreBio.com as an event to showcase Biotechnology Opportunities and Initiatives in the State.

As the head of the Vision Group, could you tell us the turnover of biotech companies in Karnataka and the growth rate of the sector here?

The current revenues generated by the biotech sector in Karnataka is in the region of Rs: 500 crore and is expected to grow at the rate of 30 per cent per annum. The year 2000 has seen the mushrooming of a number of Biotech start-ups : Avestha Biotech, Genotypic Technologies, DSQ Biotech etc.

Could you give your plan of action on biotechnology for Karnataka say in the next two years?

I would like to respond to this later i.e. after the Biotechnology Policy is announced.

There seems to be several international biotechnology expositions. We had one at New Delhi from November 29, and two more coming up in Bangalore in January and in April. In wake of global biotech events in the country how would you describe the present biotechnology scene in India ?

It is still nascent, but I think we are about to witness a serious growth and commitment to this sector. Shantha Biotech, Bharat Biotech, Wockhardt have already made serious investments in Biotech products Especially in Vaccines.Nicholas Piramal, The Reliance Group, The TATA group and others have also announced a strong interest in pursuing this sector.

What is India''s position in the global market?

Insignificant at the moment but I expect it to make a dent in five years'' time.

What are the major problems of biotechnology industry?

A poor understanding of the sector and the opportunities, the poor risk taking ability of entrepreneurs and companies as returns are both long terms and speculative. And of course inadequate financial backing in terms of both traditional and Venture funding.

What are the measures you would suggest to give a boost to this industry?

Get media to profile the successful Biotech ventures in the country and to create better awareness through pragmatic State policies. For instance, Biotechnology can be powerfully employed for environmental control and the main deterrent is poor vigilance on pollution control. The government had taken strong measures to encourage enzymatic treatment in leather processing but a strong lobby from the leather processors has negated this. Similarly all polluting chemical processes can be replaced by eco-friendly enzymatic processes for example in Paper & Pulp, Textiles etc.

What are the prospects you foresee in the next three to four years for the biotechnology industry?

Both enormous and exciting prospects. I believe we are going to see some path breaking discoveries in healthcare and agri-biotech. Human genomics is going to open a host of opportunities in both discovery and therapy.