Mergers and acquisitions are taking place in the genomics front and the cost of maintaining genomics services in the West has become unviable and companies are looking to shut shops or move to India and China, Anuradha Acharya, CEO of Ocimum Biosolutions told Pharmabiz.

Large scale genome sequencing opportunities exist for certain organisms. Micro-arrays are used for a variety of reasons including diagnostics and research. The micro-array segment is slowly becoming mature but prices of services offered are going down.

RNA interference (RNAi) is being recognised as a functional genomics research tool for mammalian gene knock-down studies, target discovery and validation. Biochips for diagnostics are slowly moving from 'Bench to Bedside', added Acharya.

India has the potential to offer a variety of services that will facilitate drug discovery and development. Funds should be made available for sustainable, scalable models in areas that leverage India's advantage. Venture capital investment to date in Indian biotechnology sector is probably not more than Rs 200 crore.

Awareness on bioinformatics tools and services is gradually increasing in India. Proteomics and genomics are gaining attention in the US and Europe.

Ocimum Biosolutions, one of the front-runners in bioinformatics sector in the country has been serving companies based in the US, Canada, Germany and the UK. Ocimum is also finding huge potential in Japan and Korea, Anuradha Acharya informed.