The Golden Jubilee Biotech Park for Women Society, India's first exclusive women's biotechnology park, will soon have four new projects belonging to different segments of biotechnology functioning.

The park, which promotes first generation entrepreneurship for women, will soon host a formulation plant for biotechnology-based drugs from Paris Dakner Microsperules Pvt. Ltd., a research centre of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, a plant for nutritional food supplements and functional food products of Nouveau Dietetique Pvt. Ltd. and a plant for blending of essential oils and preparation of aroma oil under Suvasa Aromaceuticals.

The bio-park is being developed in an area of 20 acres with 20 built up modules and the rest of 10 acres as registered land modules, allocated for entrepreneurs to construct the plants on their own. The readily built modules are completely occupied at present and the bio-park will expand its capacity, informed Anandhi Swaminathan, member secretary and general manager, Biotech Park.

"Our vision is to set up a rice and food bio-park, in which the value addition and research on paddy are focused, for women. As a non-profit organisation, we are trying to get aids from the government for the project and since we have no concrete plans on food bio-park at present," Anandhi told Pharmabiz.

The park has been designed aiming to capture the niche markets in the areas of agro, food and nutrition, medical and healthcare and finally, environment and energy. Commenced with an investment of Rs 4 crore, the biotech park was jointly developed by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India and the Tamil Nadu government. The operations commenced in May 2001.

The park follows an integrated approach involving technology identification, incubation, dissemination, training and retraining, development of necessary techno-infrastructure through feasibility studies using the criteria of value addition and market demand.