Association of Biotechnology Led Entrepreneurs (ABLE) views bio-manufacturing activities to continue to be the next big wave for the Indian biotechnology industry. The segment would give the stakeholders the much-needed confidence to channel all resources to strengthen the basic infrastructure and surge ahead. Bio-manufacturing activities is projected to catapult the industry turnover to a staggering Rs.80,000 crore from the current Rs.20,000 crore within the next 10 years.

According to Dr P M Murali, president, Association of Biotechnology Led Entrepreneurs (ABLE) and MD-CEO, Evolva, “Bio-manufacturing will play a major role in driving the next phase of growth with oncology drugs being the focus area.” Also, he stated, within the next three years, researchers would have access to an extensive genomic data base being built to develop tailored and targeted drugs for several life style disorders.

Speaking at the recently concluded Global Investors Meet 2012 in Bangalore, Dr Murali pointed out that India had manpower and manufacturing prowess and the big advantage is our information technology (IT) know-how that led to confluence of life sciences and engineering to develop bio-informatics and nano sciences. However, he hinted that the paucity of infrastructure has been stunting the growth story of Indian biotechnology.

Against this backdrop he called upon various stakeholders more so the potential investors to make appropriate moves and become part of the growth story. With bio-manufacturing accounting for around 60 per cent of the total earnings of the Indian biotech industry the return on investment could only be expected to be massive in the years to come, he added.

Commenting on oncology drugs, he said, most of the research is aimed at developing targeted personalized medicines and bio-manufacturing will be the way forward. Bio-pharma majors are allocating 15 per cent of their turnover into oncology R&D. In fact, 30 per cent of the drug pipeline of global majors constitutes oncology drugs. In 2009, 48 of the leading bio-pharma drugs went off patent which accounts for over half of the biotech drugs. There is a huge opportunity and India is already recognized as the bio-manufacturing hub for the development of oncology drugs.

Bio manufacturing covers production of monoclonal antibodies, biosimilars and vaccines. The industry’s scope for oncology drug research and development is promising because of its existing efforts in oncology drug development, strengths in organic chemistry synthesis, fermentation technology and large volume production capacity. Bio-manufacturing of oncology drugs have accrued benefits. The segment has an unmet medical needs having high growth and leading to be the most profitable therapeutic area. Currently oncology drug production is driven by low volumes and high pricing. The only way for global companies to decrease cost and increase volumes would be to invest in India.

Currently bio-manufacturing alone generates 25-30 per cent growth and it comes from the companies located in the southern states: Biocon, Shanta, Bharat Biotech, Indian Immunologicals, Dr Reddy’s and Merck Serono, partnership to co-develop biosimilar compounds in oncology, primarily focused on monoclonal antibodies (MAbs).