British Columbia Trade & Investment Representative (BCTIR) office has inked non-disclosure agreements with some Indian life sciences companies. There are also several joint research programmes and product development initiatives in the final stages of discussion.

A few research institutions in India have agreed to sign the joint research programs with British Columbia research institutes. The cost competitiveness and the efforts of global expansion by Indian life sciences companies have been the key attractions of the province to look at India, Pratap Raju, managing director, British Columbia Trade & Investment Representative told Pharmabiz

Its Ministry of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development opened its first Indian office in Bangalore and another office is planned for Mumbai. The effort is to maximize the potential of the life sciences capability of the two countries and highlight the business advantages for Indian companies wanting to expand business to North America, US and Mexico or setting up an R&D Centre of office there, he added.

There have been quite a few acquisitions and mergers by Indian companies abroad. British Columbia too is a viable investment destination for Indian companies. Some of the notable incentives include lowest corporate taxes currently pegged at 16.1 per cent and will be 15 per cent by 2012 and waiver of provincial taxes which is 10.5 per cent now and 10 per cent from 2011 for the companies registered under IFC act. The attractive tax packages for the sector has given British Columbia one of the best returns on investment per research dollar in North America, he said.

There are around 100 biotech companies in British Columbia and the industry is valued at US$ 1 billion. The province of British Columbia accounts for 30 percent concentration of biotech companies which is the highest in Canada and a major biotech hub in North America. It also has leading research institutes like University of British Columbia, BC Cancer Agency, Simon Fraser University, Genome BC and Prostate centre. Some of Canada’s largest biotechnology companies include QLTinc, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals and Aspreva Pharmaceuticals.

Recession impact was evident but because of strong currency and safe banking system, British Columbia was able to overcome the slowdown much earlier. This is because it is known for its ‘AAA’ credit ratings in Canada which is based upon the track record of the fiscal management of the provinces, said Raju.

BCTIR India office facilitates marketing, distribution, collaborations in R&D, product development, student and faculty exchange without a fee. In order to provide a first hand understanding of the province’s benefits, BCTIR has taken a Indian delegation from the life sciences industry, academia, Department of Biotechnology and CII for the ‘BioPartnering North America’ event early this year. In addition, at the Bangalore IndiaBIO expo interactions with Indian heads were held. At the BIO International Hyderabad to be held from September 21 to 22 a Canada-India B2B partnership summit with a delegation from BC is planned.