Development of Biotechnology has helped the world community to avail quality healthcare products at affordable cost, according to professor V S Ramamurthy, director, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.

The director was Inaugurating the four-day International Symposium on ‘Gene to Vial Concept for Biotechnology-based Health Care Molecules’ organized by the Centre for Bioseparation Technology (CBST) of the Vellore Institute of Technology University on the VIT campus in Vellore.

He said, unlike the high technology products of the twentieth century, biotechnology products are often seen as the only route to affordable solutions, especially in the area of health care. Biotechnology is recognized as the technology of the twenty first century.

Ramamurthy, who is also the former Secretary of DST, Government of India, said biotechnology is now not a luxury of the rich, but every layman can access its benefits. It was thought earlier that only the rich could access the modern health products given by this area of technology, but later it became affordable to the poor as well. For instance, the decrease in the price of hepatitis-B vaccine. “The development of a less expensive hepatitis-B vaccine through the recombinant DNA route indigenously by a new company in the late nineties is a classic example. The vaccine used to cost Rs.750 in the nineties now costs approximately Rs.50, with many new Indian players,” he said.

Further he said, the biotechnology industry also offers new opportunities to the developing countries like India since the entry barriers are low not only for research but also for manufacturing industries. However, the major challenge being faced by the industry today is the lack of trained human resource, particularly with the required multidisciplinary expertise.

The Professor has lauded the initiative taken by the University in establishing the Centre for Bioseparation Technologies in the VIT fold. He said the participation of a number of professional bodies and industries in the Workshop is a proof of the credibility of CBST among the stakeholders.

G Viswanathan, chancellor of VIT University, has announced that the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has agreed to provide Rs 10 crore for the next phase of the project to be taken up by the CBST.

He said India faces several health problems which include prosperity diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and infectious diseases which include malaria, tuberculosis and dengue fever. A comparison of investments in the healthcare industry between India and developed countries show a drastic difference as the cost effectiveness in India is significant. With this deliberation, a number of foreign companies are exploring opportunities in India to meet the challenges in collaboration with academia and Indian industrial partners.