Biotechnology major, Biocon has received the clearance for its Special Economic Zone (SEZ) which spans over an area of 90 acres. The company has allocated Rs 650 crore fund for this Biocon Park. The SEZ which is located Bommasandra in the outskirts of Bangalore will be the first SEZ in the private sector for biotechnology.

At the Biocon Park, Syngene, which is the company's contract research subsidiary, Biocon Bio Pharmaceuticals and the state-of-the-art fermentation facility is housed. Syngene's facility is already operational, the other two are getting ready to be commissioned in mid-2006, according to Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director Biocon Limited.

The company teamed up with Centre for Molecular Immunology, a Cuban-based monoclonal antibody and cell culture technology major to set-up 'Biocon Biopharmaceuticals', which is another subsidiary of Biocon Limited. The tie-up will allow the company to increase its product range with two additional monoclonal antibodies (MABs) and three cancer vaccines.

The third facility at the Biocon Park is the fermentation unit which is well known for its Plafractor technology which is the world's first indigenously developed patent on fermentation of solid state and submerged fermentation delivering high productivity at low operational cost.

Pharmabiz had reported that in September 2005, SEZ Act was passed by the Government of India. In 2004-end Department of Biotechnology, Government of India was making efforts to ensure that companies located in biotechnology parks would be able to avail all the benefits enjoyed by units in the SEZs. In addition the companies are also exempted from import license, registration rules. The SEZ status will provide the tax relief for Biocon. The facility will be entitled to total tax breaks for the next five years and 50 per cent benefit for the subsequent five years.

The setting up of product specific SEZs will allow companies to capitalize on the tax benefits. In this connection, the pharma and biotech companies are making efforts to seek SEZ status for its facility located in industrial zones and Ranbaxy is the next followed by Ramky group, developers of the Pharma City near Vizag which is making efforts to establish a pharma SEZ inside the Pharma City.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Government has also made efforts to set up a second Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Hassan for multi industries base there. Among the industries slated to set base here include Strides Arcolab in the pharma sector which is establishing a bulk drug facility at an investment of Rs 48 crore and expected to employ 180 people. UK-based Vitabiotics' Indian subsidiary located at Mumbai will invest Rs 19.70 crore for starting a formulation facility which is expected to offer 356 jobs.