The state of Pennsylvania is scouting for Indian bioscience companies to set up operations there. Pennsylvania provides a complete gamut of capital assistance and infrastructure to support biosciences research and commercialization activities.

In this connection, an eight member delegation led by Dennis Yablonsky, secretary, Community Development Pennsylvania is on a bilateral trade mission into India.

With the maturity of the Indian industry, there are several opportunities for companies in the country to expand operations in Pennsylvania. Efforts have already begun and out of $1.2 billion investments, 1,300 projects to date are from UK, Canada, Australia, Asia and Europe.

The Commonwealth already has several Indian initiatives which have sprung up successful outfits. These include AppLabs, TCS in the information technology sector, from the allied biosciences segment, Bilcare the pharma packaging major has set up a base there. "We see lot of potential for Indian companies and they should look at Pennsylvania as an investment destination," stated Dennis Yablonsky, secretary, Community Development Pennsylvania.

Going by the present capabilities of the India bio sciences sector where several companies have set up production and research operations in the Latin America (Strides, Ranbaxy, Torrent,) or even acquired plants abroad (Kemwell taking over Pfizer unit at Sweden), the State of Pennsylvania has several potential opportunities for companies to open up units there. "Our relationship with India is strong and long. We want to strengthen it and India has been most sought after for it. This is because of the aggressive attitude of Indian companies to take on the global space and Pennsylvania will support each of these through its Economic Stimulus Package in addition to the State's commitment of $2 billion for development of biosciences alone", informed the secretary, Community Development Pennsylvania.

A combination of funds has created a powerful set of incentives for entrepreneurs and investors to grow their companies in Pennsylvania. Such a policy by Pennsylvania has been hailed internationally as a model for sound policy and investment, he said.

Pennsylvania has been known for its competitive clusters in life sciences and integrated bio-manufacturing. It is also a base for biotech research and medical equipment Extensive research in nanotechnology and robotics is going on here. It is ranked first in pharma manufacture in the US and third in the US for biotech clusters. Over 33,150 life science companies employ 9,00,000 people.

Among the leading global pharma majors, which has set base, there are Sanofi Aventis, Shire, UK, Merck and Bayer.

There is also a Single Window clearance for speedy approval of projects. The office of trade helps develop investment polices and advocates businesses. The New Pennsylvania Venture Capital Investment Programme and R&D Tax credit programme has been expanded by $15 million to $30 million. There is also a Second Stage Loan Guarantee Programme and Small Business Innovation Research Programme. Further, India is Pennsylvania largest export destination for chemicals.

At the Universities in Pennsylvania have the highest number of Indian students.