The first international knowledge millennium conference on "Drug Discovery and Healthcare in the Knowledge Economy -India's Opportunities" will be held at Taj Krishna, in Hyderabad, on November 24 and 25. The conference, jointly organised by the ICICI Knowledge Park, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), CSIR, and the Government of Andhra Pradesh, will be inaugurated by Governor C Rangarajan. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu will be the guest of honour.

More than 300 delegates, some from the foreign countries, will be attending the conference, which is being held to promote the knowledge-based industries. There will be several speakers of international reputation from India and the US like Ananda Chakravarthy and William Rutters.

According to Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, CEO of ICICI Knowledge Park, the future of biotechnology industry, drug discovery companies and the providers of healthcare are inter-linked and the conference will open up tremendous opportunities for innovation.

The conference is expected to create a platform for leveraging the opportunities available in different areas through experience sharing, discussions and networking with entrepreneurs, investors and experts and to make them aware of the potential that India has.

Chattopadhyay said ICICI Park was planning to position itself as a business accelerator for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in the near future.

"After establishing the Park as a world-class infrastructure provider we are now working on the second phase of networking. The networking phase starts with the two-day International Knowledge Millennium Conference. The third phase will begin when we position ourselves as a business accelerator," she said.

Elaborating on the future role of the Park, she said, "We look at what would make the tenant companies' business boom. We would be playing the role of a consultant and facilitator to make the business grow. It would take at least two years for this phase to begin."

The Park's second phase would be inaugurated on November 24, coinciding with the first day of IKMC.