Karnataka Udyog Mitra (KUM) which is the single window agency to assist in the establishment of industries and to promote Foreign Direct Investment in the state, is now wooing investments from Yunnan Province in China to set up facilities in pharma and biotechnology.


The state has thrown open its 3 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the biotech sector and one in the pharma space spanning 2,500 hectares of land with employment opportunity for 25,000 personnel. It is also attracting high employment and high technology investments through it Suvarna Karnataka Infrastructure Corridor which is focusing on intensive economic growth.


The state already has a solid presence in the pharma and biotechnology space. There are leading production and research centres here. Now it is looking to increase the opportunities of strengthening cooperation between the two countries by attracting investments.


China is known to have made the largest foreign direct investments across the world. Now Karnataka which is home to 87 Fortune 500 companies and 700 multinationals is now looking to further expand the scope for presence of international majors. The state is now gearing up to organize the 2nd Global Investors Meet in June 2012. The first Global Investors meet attracted investments to the tune of Rs.3.92 lakh crore ($87.25 billion. Of the 457 projects approved, 215 have commenced implementation, stated Maheshwar Rao, managing director, Karnataka Udyog Mitra.


In the area of biotechnology, the state accounts for 60 per cent of the companies in India which is 195 of the total 361 companies. The Bangalore Helix Biotech Park is the biggest hub. The state scientific pool is estimated at 6,000 engaged in various phases of research and development. In the pharma sector, the state has 236 companies with a large multinational presence. Some of the leading pharma-biotech companies are Novo Nordisk, Novozymes, AstraZeneca, Cell Works, Biocon, Jubilant Biosys, John Welch, Advinus, Aurigene, Agilent Technologies, Pall Corporation and Sartorius-Stedim to name a few.


In the healthcare front, Bangalore is recognized as the hub for medical care with leading hospitals like St. John’s, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Fortis, Apollo, Manipal, Columbia Asia and MS Ramaiah Memorial attracting a major chunk of medical tourism. The erstwhile Wockhardt hospital which was acquired by Fortis in 2009 had a team of Chinese cardiac surgeons coming here to Bangalore for training in heart surgeries.


Now the state is looking for value addition in biotech, pharma and healthcare. Being a major base of IT/ITES services, the state accounts for a chunk of contract research and clinical trial assignments. These prove the capability of human resources, he stated.


With the Drugs Controller General of India now gearing up to send the drug control officials to China for overseas inspection it could further help increase the import and export of pharmaceuticals, stated industry observers.


A delegation from the Yunnan which is a south western province of China bordering Myanmar, Lao and Vietnam was here to invite Indian industry to participate at the 6th China-South Asia Business Forum which will be held from June 5-7,2011. The effort is to deepen economic trade and strengthen bilateral relations, stated Xiong Qinghua, director-general of department of commerce, Yunnan Province, China.


Among the focus area of the Forum include medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. India has been known for its formulation development and companies in the state are known for sourcing active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates for the production of branded drugs, said the Yunnan Province DG.