The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Kiran Kumar Reddy has called upon the industry leaders and new investors to explore and tap the best potentials available in the state. He emphasized that the government is giving more priority to the pharma and biotechnology sector and is devising more industry friendly policies to retain its past tag of a pioneering industrial state in the country.

While inaugurating the 9th edition of BioAsia 2012 at Hyderabad International Convention Centre at Hitex, Reddy said, “We are again on the track and looking forward for a sustainable growth. In that direction we are working hard to make Hyderabad to once again become the best destination for investments in the country.”

Over the past 2 years the industrial sector in the state has been worried over the past disturbances and uncertainties in the government. Moreover the unresolved contentious issues between the pharma industry, the regulatory authorities and the pollution control board have also halted growth activities in the state.

Now with the government’s assurance to support and devise friendly policies for the industrial sector, new investors are enthused to invest in the state especially in the vaccine and bio pharma sector. Companies like GSK, Pfizer, and Sanofi are planning to venture in to the state provided the state government takes proactive steps in accelerating its industry friendly policies.

Dr J Geetha Reddy, Minister for Industries, Government of Andhra Pradesh was also present at the inauguration session of the event. She said, “The government is ready to provide all the facilities to help industry to grow and make the State an emerging hub for all kinds of businesses in the country.”

With regard to speedy resolution of issues, Dr Krishna Ella, Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, requested the Government to set up a panel on pollution norms for the biotech industry.

“The biotechnology industry is growing on a faster pace in the state. There are more than 100 biotech units located in the Genome valley. During the year 2010-11 the Indian biotech industry has crossed $3 billion and is poised to grow further in the coming years,” said Dr K V Raghavan, vice-president, Federation of Asian Biotech Associations.
 
Genome Valley Excellence Award were presented by the chief minister to Dr Seth Berkley, Chief Executive Officer, GAVI Alliance, Geneva and Mr Kevin Ali, President, Emerging Markets, Merck, USA for their exemplary work in the area of innovation and research.

About 250 companies from across 35 countries are taking part in the BioAsia-12 event where they will be interacting with each other and involved in discussions over optimizing opportunities especially in the field of vaccine development and other related pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.