The need for tapping the immense manufacturing opportunities in biotech sector in India was the highlight of the second day of the Biotech India 2003 conference being held here from February 5, 2003 to February 8. Experts from both the manufacturing and R&D got together to discuss the opportunities in Indian biotech sector during the day.

Addressing the session titled “Conference on New Age Therapies” Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson, CII National Committee on Biotechnology & CMD Biocon India Ltd spoke of the immense manufacturing possibilities India can explore. “The market for biotech based pharma molecules currently across the world is to the tune of US$ 20 billion and if the current growth is an indicator it should reach US$ 50 billion by 2007. It will be important to meet the criteria of fast track approvals and that going ahead 70 per cent of molecules will emerge out of biotech formulations. Small molecule solutions are required to lead a genomic revolution. Turning this into a commercial reality is an enormously important task ahead of us,” she said. India's capabilities in chemical synthesis are very well known and India has an extremely focused outlook in meeting production of BT Molecules. By ensuring production of the BT molecule in a globally technical manner, each biological entity product can become a molecule in itself, she said.

Manisha Desai, Senior Patent Attorney, Eli Lily stressed that unsolved health problems can be solved by biotech, especially cancer, communicable and infectious diseases. “A case for manufacturing Biologicals in India is a win-win situation and not only would it create immense job opportunities for India's highly-educated and skilled workforce, but will also pave the way for rapid technology transfer to the country. Outsourcing manufacturing creates capacity for new technological innovations. With the lower production costs for adapting and using the newest technologies, any large or medium size company will be eager to partner with Indian companies. For this Regulatory reforms are required and as per the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines, Quality, Safety and Efficacy all need to be adhered to. Some Indian companies have already met and surpassed the ICH guidelines and others that are able to reengineer themselves faster will reap benefits,” she said.

The first international exhibition and conference on biotechnology, Biotech India 2003, is organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. The event is being held as a part of the 15th International Engineering and Technology Fair. The conference is to end on February 8, 2003.