The fruits of research and development should in the end touch the lives of the common man and bring about visible improvement through affordable solutions, said, E S L Narasimhan, Governor of Andhra Pradesh.

Addressing the valedictory function of BioAsia 2011, the Governor said that the world is awaiting major breakthroughs in the healthcare sector at affordable costs. The growing convergence between biotech and pharma as evidenced by key global alliances taking shape, hold a promise to usher a new era in healthcare which is a welcome augury. In case of healthcare, the emphasis rightly is on a holistic approach.

He said, “We are on the anvil of a major transition with changed focus from basic chemical approaches to a mature biopharmaceutical approach to combat disease and degenerative phenomenon. I believe we are firmly on course from a one drug for all regimes to a much awaited scenario of personalized medicine and cell based therapies.”

The Indian biotech industry is expected to touch the US $ 10 billion threshold by 2015. The biotech, biopharma and bio-services segments in particular are expected to follow a more robust growth trajectory. He expressed the hope that the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) Hyderabad will train and mould superior talent particularly for research and development (R&D).

The biotech boom in India started in the 1990s and today 45 per cent of the world’s vaccine requirements are met by India, with Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi as main centres, said, Prof. D Balasubramaniam, director of research, LV Prasad Eye Institute.

Dr B S Bajaj, convener of BioAsia said that delegates from 39 countries, including China and Iran participated in the four-day event. The eighth edition of BioAsia registered record number of participants. He continued that it is the first time delegation form China is participating in the event.

The YSR Innovation Award 2011, carrying Rs.1 lakh and a citation, was presented to Reddy Chaitanya of Vishnu Dental College, West Godavai district of Andhra Pradesh for the innovation on manually operated mobile air compressor for use in dentistry.

The BioAsia, Young Minds Award 2011, with Rs.50,000 and a citation, was presented to Vignesh Sridharan of Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School, Adyar, Chennai for the innovation of ‘electricity from waste: microbial fuel cell technology.’