The Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprise (ABLE) sees that the increased allocation for department of biotechnology (DBT) to the tune of Rs.11,804 crore in the 12th plan would help biotech companies to embark on innovation and improve the science infrastructure.

In fact, it was ABLE in association with DBT which had released the road map for the sector. “The next decade is expected to put India into the $100 billion club. We have outlined not just the key steps needed year-on-year for the next decade but also recommended for an increased allocation to DBT,” Dr PM Murali, president, ABLE, told Pharmabiz.

“Now it is possible for DBT to pursue the roadmap of our biotech report aggressively. The focus is on increasing the local talent pool and foster interdisciplinary research. The objective is to eventually ensure that there is an innovation climate and proper translation of path breaking technologies,” he added.

“Currently there is a lot of uncertainty in the regulatory environment across all disciplines of biotechnology. The key to grow the sector is to improve the regulatory and science infrastructure. This increased allocation will now help to strengthen this area. Another important segment is to foster entrepreneurship. It is the budding environment of active start-ups that has led to the prosperity of the bio economy in the western world, said the ABLE president.

DBT will need to look first to augment the  existing R&D institutions by establishing a number of grants for the development of new products. It would also need to address the need for translation of these technologies which is currently not optimum, he said.

A combination of good autonomous R&D institutions and identification of Universities to have a nuclei of research will address issues of skills, infrastructure and multidisciplinary research ideas. “Indian importance to biotechnology is late compared to the developed countries and therefore there is need for considerable catching up,” he noted.

Further, there is need for technology acquisition in areas like synthetic biology which require funds. There is also need for a number of products to be licensed to the western world which could eventually be developed here. This increased allocation to DBT is the first right step. The execution needs experienced researchers from both the public and private institutions. Urgent establishment of science infrastructure and skill development would usher in the bio-economy that ABLE had envisaged and conceived. Therefore there is an urgency to  cherry pick and to act, lest India might seriously fail in meeting the challenges of the coming decade, said Dr Murali.