Bangalore Bio 2003 is expected to be bigger event in terms of participation and exhibition space. The three-day event to held between April 15-17 is now endorsed by the Department of Commerce, United States which is expected to ease international trade procedures in pharma and biotech related areas with the US.

The theme for this year's event is 'Gene for Growth' has been selected with a view that the concept will target all sectors of biotechnology which include pharma, marine, agro and related analytical instrument companies, Vivek Kulkarni, secretary information technology and biotechnology, government of Karnataka said at the second Bangalore Bio 2003 press conclave here.

"The two Bangalore Bio events in the past held in 2001 and 2002 have helped to increase the participation this year. As against last year's fifty entries, the Bangalore Bio 2003 will witness double the number of participants. In fact more than 50 percent will be from the overseas. "The strategy for marketing the event overseas last year has paid rich dividends. Many of the visitors are coming to India for the first time. This will have a positive bearing on the event as well as the rapidly growing biotechnology industry."

The countries that have confirmed participation are US, Canada, France, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, Korea and Japan. While Hungary and Uruguay have evinced keen interest in the event along with New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore. Six states in India: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Orissa have given consent to be present.

The annual event has enticed investors to Karnataka and currently there are 83 biotech companies in the State with an average 30 per cent representation in pharma-healthcare, agri, bioinformatics and contract research, informed Kulkarni. Some of the concrete investments in the field include the setting up of a Life Science Park in Kumta in north Karnataka, which is a $20 million project followed by Cellular Culture Lab with an $11 million and the Dr. Reddy's research outfit on Hosur Road set up at a cost of Rs.10 crore, informed Kulkarni.

The unique features of this year's event is the Knowledge Pavilion which will showcase the premier research labs of India and also the leading educational institutes to highlight the fact that India is the single largest, scientifically trained English speaking pool of knowledge workers. "This pavilion is expected to help discover new opportunities of partnership in the Indian market. The presence of the CSIR (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research) with its 29 labs from all over the country and the stand alone institutes like the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology will highlight their research capabilities, said Kulkarni.

The other features of the event are the CEO conclave, Bio Banquet, B2B forum, Awards Nite.