india is poised for growth in biotechnology with an abundance of government initiatives andbio...

8/7/2019 India is poised for growth in biotechnology with an abundance of government initiatives andbio company

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India is poised for growth in biotechnology with an abundance of

government initiatives and biotech parks under construction in cities like

Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Pune. Biotech professionals, including many

CEOs of Indian companies, convened recently in HiTech City, near

Hyderabad, for BioAsia 2007.

Varaprasad Reddy, a biotech pioneer, foundedShantha Biotech

(www.shanthabiotech.com)in 1993. The company developed a Hep B

vaccine, which was marketed in 1997. The company also developed

interferon alpha, EPO, and several other vaccines. In 2006, Mrieux

Alliance, a France-based company, acquired a 60% controlling stake in

Shantha.

Regulatory Guidelines for Biosimilars

Intas Biopharmas (www.intasbiopharma.com)facility in Ahmedabad is

used for manufacturing C-GSF and EPO. Dr. Dhananjay Patankar, CTO of

Intas Biopharma, was a member of the Mashelkar Task force that recently

helped draft the regulatory guidelines for approval of biosimilar products in

India. According to Dr. Patanakar, the path required for approval of a

biotech product is as follows: (1) the Department of Biotechnology

approves protocols up to animal toxicity studies; (2) the Drug ControllerGeneral of India approves clinical trials and final product for marketing; and

(3) The Food and Drug Control Administration, a state governing body,

approves the manufacturing license based on a GMP audit, similar to the

ELA concept in U.S. All these approvals can be completed within a year.

In addition, equivalence has to be shown in clinical trial subjects in

randomized double-blind studies with placebo, licensed products, and new

products. Approval for biosimilar products requires only Phase III clinical

trials for 100 patients, and the cost for this is approximately $100,000 per

100 patients.

Bharat Biotech (www.bharatbiotech.com), founded by Dr. Krishna Ella,

has three recombinant products on the market including r-EGF and r-

streptokinase and is now focusing on vaccine production. According to Dr.

Ella and other CEOs, India does not have well-established R&D programs,

and innovation will be the key to success. Several companies are

contemplating rushing to get biosimilar products into the market in India.
http://www.shanthabiotech.com/http://www.intasbiopharma.com/http://www.bharatbiotech.com/http://www.shanthabiotech.com/http://www.intasbiopharma.com/http://www.bharatbiotech.com/


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Recombinant Products

There are over seven companies producing recombinant products, Reddy

reported. However, only one or two companies have generated their own

clones and cell lines. Many of the companies license recombinant clonesfrom CMOs in Cuba or other countries. All companies that manufacture

and market insulin and the Hep B vaccine in India are using Pichia or

Hansenula yeast. It is not clear why Indian companies use these yeast

species as there are no FDA-approved therapeutic proteins from Pichia or

Hansenula in the U.S. or Europe.

Insulin, the Hep B vaccine, GM-CSF, and several other FDA-approved

therapeutic products are manufactured using S. cerevisiae. Nevertheless,

since the introduction of these products from Indian companies, the cost of

insulin and Hep B vaccine has dramatically lowered in the Indian market,

and now these products are available for mass production in India.

There is no EMEA- or FDA-approved GMP plant for manufacturing

recombinant proteins in India, said Dinesh Dua, former president of

Wockhardt.

Products currently on the market are EPO with sales of $22M, c-GSF withsales of $11M, interferon at $22M, streptokinase with sales of $16M, and

insulin with $55M in sales, and the market is growing at a rate of 2030%.

Potential blockbusters might be EPO, peg-GCSF, insulin, streptokinase or

other thrombolytic agents, and mAbs that are off patent in the U.S.

India has the largest number (>70) of U.S. FDA-approved plants outside of

the U.S. (for small molecules) and also a large number of ANDA approvals.

However, the expertise required for manufacturing biologicals is vastly

different and not yet available within the Indian biopharma industry. Most of

the CEOs at BioAsia 2007 agreed that the most interesting challenge

ahead will be to understand and implement the regulatory requirements for

biosimilars in order to market them in regulated markets.

Shasun (www.shasun.com) has a facility in Chennai and is expanding to

house fermentors for new expression systems. Jatin Vimal, heads the

biotechnology unit for Shasun, and said the company can tap into its

pegylation expertise to produce more stable recombinant proteins. Thecompanys chemists have been successful in synthesizing various PEG
http://www.shasun.com/http://www.shasun.com/


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moieties, and its protein chemists have experience optimizing and

characterizing conjugation reactions.

According to Vimal, research efforts are also under way for developing

novel third-generation PEG moieties at Shasun that could impart favorable

properties for conjugation and protein pharmacokinetics.

Anu Acharya foundedOcimum Biosolutions (www.ocimumbio.com),

which now has offices in the U.S. and Europe. The company is a provider

of software for laboratory information management systems, bioinformatics

solutions, and microarrays.

Rajesh Jain, CEO ofPanacea Biotec (www.panaceabiotec.com), said his

companys focus is not to rush to market with biosimilar products, but

rather to innovate. In his opinion, there are hardly any visible efforts by the

biopharmaceutical industry to develop de novo new biomolecules in spite

of the fact that India has a product patent regime in place. Panacea has

five R&D centers focusing on different areas of development, and the focus

of its Biopharmaceutical Research Center is to develop novel products that

will respond to infections or diseases prevalent in the Indian population.

Multinational companies have already established a presence in India in

areas such as equity participation, contract manufacturing, research

relationships, joint product development, commercialization and

manufacturing relationships, and product/technology in-licensing and out-

licensing. As the cost of bringing a biosimilar product to market in India is

approximately $1020 million, according to Dr. Ella, India expects

accelerated growth in biotechnology in the next decade.
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India's Emerging Biotechnology Industry

Bio - enablers: The policy front

The Indian Biotech Industry

Present Status

SWOT Analysis of Indian Biotech Sector

Indian as a centre if Excellence

INDIA'S EMERGING BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY

Partnering and Investment Opportunities

"IT stands for India tomorrow & BT stans for Bharat Tomorrow."

Atal Behari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India

After leading the I.T bandwagon India has shifted its efforts to biotechnology. The alignment of a vast

pool of scientific talent, a world class information-technology industry, and a vibrant genericpharmaceutical sector position India to emerge as a significant spot on the global biotech map.

Even though in the global biotech market, Indian share is presently just about 2% , the future seemsvery bright for the country. Biotechnology is a fast emerging sector in India. The consumption ofbiotech products in India was $1789 mn during 1999, which is expected to grow up to the tune of $4270 mn by the end of year 2010 .India's rich human capital is believed to be the strongest asset for this knowledge-based industryhaving a large English speaking skill base, 3 million graduates, 700,000 postgraduates & 1500 PhDs

qualified in biosciences and engineering. It is estimated that 10% of researchers and 15% of scientistsin Pharma/ Biotech R&D in USA are of Indian origin.Biotech industry in India at present is at the threshold of tremendous growth. For example, in thehuman and animal products segment of the industry alone, the vaccines market alone is valued atUS$ 230 million and is growing at 20 per cent. The success of firms like Shanta Biotech and BharatBiotech emphasise the fact. India's first genetically engineered vaccine, Shanta Biotech's Shanvacagainst Hepatitis B, costs $4, less than half the price of similar vaccines marketed by multinationalcompanies.

The investment opportunities in India are very promising. Fresh investments of 145 mn hold thepotential of creating a turnover of Rs. 200 mn. in the next 5 to 7 years, which could then further be

utilized to innovate new products for the global biotech market.

India has achieved an amazing lot in a relatively short time.Some of the milestones for the Indianbiotech are highlighted below.

Milestones ~ the first decade

1978 - Country's first biotech company BIOCON ~ for industrial enzymes

1981 - Center for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) ~ for DNA & r-DNA based research

1984- Institute for Microbial Technology, (IMTECH) ~ for R&D in microbial bio-processing

1986 -Department of Biotechnology (DBT), set up by Government of India of I ~ for

promoting modern biology and biotechnology at academic and industry levels

1987 -National Institute of Immunology (NII) set up by DBT~ for immunology research

1989 -Bangalore Genei starts operations to produce restriction enzymes & other tools for

DNA based R&D

Milestones ~ the second decade

1991 -National Center for Biological sciences (NCBS) ~ to pursue R&D molecular biology


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1994 -Syngene International, country's first CRC (promoted by Biocon) to offer R&D services

in drug discovery based modern biology.

1997 -Center for Biochemical Technology (CBT) to focus on Bioinformatics and Genomics

1997-Shantha Biotech launches India's first recombinant product, Hep B vaccine

1998 -Monsanto research establishes an R&D center at IISc for plant genomics.

1998 -DBT approves Mahyco-Monsanto to conduct Bt cotton trials.

Milestones ~ the third decade

2000 -4 states Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu announce Biotech

initiatives

2000 -Country's first Bionformatics company Strand Genomics formed by four IISc professors

2000 -GENOMED country's first JV between Institute (CBT) & Industry (Nicholas Piramal) to

pursue pharmaco-genomics.

2001 -NCBS scientist sets up Avesthagen a plant genomics company.

2001 -GEAC approves Wockhardt's EPO.

2001 -NIH approves NCBS and Reliance Life Sciences as 2 out of 10 labs worldwide, for stem

cell lines

2001 -Drug Authority implements GCP guidelines for clinical trials. 2001 -Millennium biotech policy, the first state level Biotech policy, announced by

Government of Karnataka

2002 -Institute of Bioinformatics & Applied Biotechnology a jointly funded initiative between

Government of Karnataka & ICICI commences academic program.

2002 -GEAC approves Bt cotton for commercial planting.

2002 -GEAC approves Shantha Biotech's Inteferon Alpha 2b.

2002 -Institute of Bioinformatics & Applied Biotechnology a jointly funded initiative between

Government of Karnataka & ICICI commences academic program.

2002 -GEAC approves Bt cotton for commercial planting.

2002 -GEAC approves Shantha Biotech's Inteferon Alpha 2b.

BIO-ENABLERS: THE POLICY FRONT

The Indian Government had the foresight to invest in creation of infrastructure for biotechnology wayback in 1985 by setting up a dedicated Central Department for Biotechnology, when the biotech wavewas at best, just a ripple.

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is the nodal agency for policy, promotion of R&D,international cooperation and manufacturing activities. In mid eighties, DBT focused on generating

trained manpower & infrastructure development. The current focus is on genomics, proteomics,transgenics, stem cell research and product development. Having invested US$ 500 million towards

R&D in national laboratories and Centers of Excellence since it inception in 1986, several products inagriculture, environmental and health areas are already in the market.

The government on its part has been increasing the outlays for biotechnology over the past decade.The budgetary allocations have gone up by a tremendous amount from just 404 million in 1987-88 to1138 million in 1997-98 and to almost double the amount of a whopping 2356 million in 2002-03.

The center is also planning to introduce additional venture capital funds in line with its technologydevelopment fund (TDF) to promote small and medium biotech enterprises.

In addition to DBT, several other agencies in India also fund biotech research, although the others are

not dedicated to funding only biotech research. Budgetary allocations for all these have gone up in thelast decade (see table).

BUDGETRY ALLOCATION OF MAJOR FUNDING AGENCIES IN INDIA FOR THEYEARS 1990-91 AND 2000-01


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These figures show that the Government of India is committed to biotechnology as a vital sector forIndia's future. A decent regulatory framework is in place to approve GM crops and r-DNA products forhuman health. A proactive government policy allows stem cell research in the country while having in

place sound ethical guidelines. The Government is also favorably inclined to adopt product patentregime. Indian Patents (Second Amendment) Bill was recently cleared by the Parliament. The keyamendments in Patents Bill include 20-year patent term, emergency provisions and commencement ofR&D immediately after filing of patents. Bill was in line with making country's patent law compatiblewith the provisions of WTO and TRIPS. While key aspects and relevant provisions of TRIPS, ParisConvention and Doha declarations have been taken on board, available flexibilities are made use of to

the maximum extent to safeguard national security and protect varied interests of the nation includingpublic health.

In addition to the Central Government initiatives, several states have taken out

their state specific biotech policies to boost the biotechnology sector in theirrespective states. Some of these are as follows:

Andhra Pradesh

Government of Andhra Pradesh, in collaboration with the ICICI Limited, has set up a knowledge Parknear Hyderabad. Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the destination of firstchoice for corporate and entrepreneurs desiring to enter the exciting world of Bio-tech. Hub of theGenome Valley is being developed an area covering 600 sq. kms.

Tamil Nadu

The Government of Tamil Nadu is facilitating in the setting up of the biotechnology enterprise zones(biovalleys) along the lines of Silicon Valley to exploit the bio resources of the state. Four biotechparks, a bioinformatics and genome center will be established, each of which would be leveraging thebioresources of the agro-ecological zones of Tamil Nadu. These five entities will be the hub of the

biotechnology enterprise zones.

Maharashtra

The State has an excellent intellectual infrastructure. Through nearly 1000 institutions, it producesaround 163,000 trained technical personnel each year. Some of the best Centers of excellence in India

are present in Maharashtra. The government is also promoting biotech parks, R&D centers, and pilotplant facilities for underway contract research by putting equity stakes in such projects.

Karnataka

The Karnataka government has announced a biotech policy to promote this sector and is setting up aninstitute for bioinformatics in Banglore. In addition to this it is also creating a biotechnology fundwhich will have inflows from the biotech companies. This could be used for incubation of new projects

and promotion of the sector in the state.

Th Karnataka government is putting in Rs. 50 million and an equal amount is being brought by ICICIto develop the institute if bioinformatics in Banglore. Karnataka has planned to launch India's firststate sponsored biotechnology venture capital fund to boost their initiatives.


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estimated $250 million from a total seed market worth US $ 500 million in 2001. Marine resourcedevelopment and aqua culture also hold a great potential with India having more than 8000kilometers of coastline including Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshwadeep.There is presence of global companies in this sector too. US-based Hicks Muse's proposal to take up

75% percent equity in India Seed Holding through its Mauritius subsidiary was cleared by thegovernment. The company will bring forth foreign investment worth 35 million for production and

marketing of hybrid and improved variety of seeds. The Indian partner in this venture is MahindraHybrid Seeds, Besides this Bayer functions in India through acquiring New Delhi based ProAgro groupcompanies.

Industrial Biotech Segment

This segment is expected to show significant growth commensurate with the growth of the Biotechsector. Products include enzymes, bio-instrumentation and bioprocess equipment

Services segment

An increasing number of large pharmaceutical companies are finding it difficult to conduct the entire

drug discovery process-in-house. India on the other hand provides a cheaper infrastructure. For

example a biotech based therapeutic product costs$250 million and 10-15 years to reach the market.In India, it is estimated to cost $250 million. This has given rise to contract research organizationsspecialising in dug discovery services. Contract Research services are largely focused on molecularbiology, bioinformatics, genomics & stem cell research. Clinical research and trials are expected togrow exponentially over the next 5 years.

Scores of large IT companies have already established bioinformatics units and Banglore is bristling

with bioinformatics startups. There are tremendous opportunities in India for data-mining, geneannotation, and the development of software interfaces. These require enormous computing power for

which India has established its supremacy.

PRESENT STATUS

Over the last decade the biotech industry in India has grown at a rapid pace to achieve a sizeable

scale with respect to turnover (see figure).

There are about 170 biotech-based companies in India. Out of these, 60 are in the modern biotechsector. Companies in the modern biotech sector were selected and a questionnaire circulated to themto get data about investment in biotechnology, scientific and other manpower, funding and otherdetails. The following picture has emerged from the analysis of the data submitted by 52 companies.

Biofinancial Landscape is improving

The total Project investment by the companies we analyzed was over 100 m dollars in the last decadeThe companies have received over 1.5 mn of VC Funding from 1999-2001.The total Revenues havebeen over 1500 mn.


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Biotechnology is a dynamic sector

Biotech is a dynamic and rapidly growing sector of the Indian economy. Out of 52 companies 32 alonewere incorporated after 1998.Interestingly, most of the new companies are going into the service sector, including contract

research and bioinformatics. As many as 11 companies out of the 19 new companies incorporatedafter 1998 were in the service sector.

Biohuman resources

Due the increase in the number of biotechnology companies the demand for scientific manpower hasincreased tremendously. The analysis we conducted depicted that 52 companies employ around 5000people, out of which the majority is employed in R&D and Production.

Agri-biotech is a large sector


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A sectoral break-up of the biotech market in India is presented in the figure below. The largestpercentage of the biotech companies in India operate in the agricultural domain. As many as 24% ofthe companies surveyed were in the agri-biotech area. More than 16% are in the human health area,including biodiagonstics and vaccines.The agri-biotech industry experienced a boost in the years 94-97 when as many as 12 out of 52companies were incorporated, thereafter 8 companies have been incorporated.

It will be seen from the above that the health care products will dominate the scene and may accountfor about 40% of the market by 2010. Contribution of biotechnology in agriculture may also rise tonearly 33.7% from its share of 29.8% in 1999. Contract research and bioinformatics are upcomingareas too accounting for 26% of the companies in the biotech sector.Out of the companies we surveyed 11 out of 52 companies were established in this segment after1998. This shows that the trend of the indian companies is towards that in the bioservices sector.The global bioinformatics industry clocked an estimated turnover of $ 2 billion last year and this figureis expected to grow to $60 billion by 2005. Bioinformatics probably represents the biggest opportunityfor the IT industry since Y2K and If industry and government work together, experts feel it is possible

to for Indian industry to achieve a 5% global market share.

Funding for the biotech sector

Venture capital funding of about Rs. 3000 million has been estimated for the biotech sector (Source:RIS). Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Indian Credit and InvestmentCorporation of India (ICICI) have committed about 35% each


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Banks still remain the major financing source for biotechnology with venture capital accounting forless than 20% of funding in our survey.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF INDIAN BIOTECH SECTORStrengths

Trained manpower and knowledge base

Good network of research laboratories

Rich Biodiversity

Well developed base industries (e.g.:

pharmaceuticals, seeds)

Access to intellectual resources of NRIs

in this area.

Extensive clinical trials and research ~

access to vast & diverse diseasepopulations

Bio-diversity ~ India's human gene pools

offer an exciting opportunity for genomic

Weaknesses

Missing link between research and

commercialisation.

Lack of venture capital

Relatively low R&D expenditure by

industry

Image of Indian industry -doubts about

ability of Indian products to meetinternational standards of quality

Opportunities

Large market

Export potential

Base for contract research for

international companies due to risingcosts of R&D abroad.

Large number of patients covering wider

range of diseases

Threats

Danger of anti-biotech propaganda

gaining ground

IPR policies

INDIA AS A CENTER IF EXCELLENCE

Research institutes form the backbone of the biotech industry. India realising this has already taken abig leap forward by establishing a number of institutes which carry on a most advanced researchprogramme. Major research in India so far is carried out at government funded research institutes like- Indian Council of Agricultural Research., Indian Council of Medical Research, Council of scientific &Industrial Research, Department of Biotechnology [under the Ministry of Science & Technology.].

With the research carried on in the above institutions there have been major achievements in basicbiosciences in the last decade or so in India, where we have expertise in practically all areas of

modern biology. Breakthroughs include studies on the three dimensional structure of a novel aminoacid, a long protein of mosquito (university of Poona), and a demonstration of the potential ofreconstituted Sendai viral envelops containing only the F protein of the virus , as an efficient and site-


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specific vehicle for the delivery of reporter genes into hepatocytes.

In the agricultural and allied areas we have achieved the cloning and sequencing of atleast six genes,developed regeneration protocols for citrus, coffee, mangrove species, and new types of biofertilizersand biopesticides formulations, including mycorrhizal fertilizers.

An impetus has been given to the plant tissue culture industry after the successful tissue culture pilotplants at TERI in NEW DELHI and the other at NCL in PUNE have started functioning as

micropropogation technology parks.

Department of Biotechnology has already invested Rs. 1000 crore in this field and launched a five-

year , $ 20 million Indian Genome Initiative to study and map the genetic variations in the people ofIndia.

Institutions being set up for Genome research are -Plant Genomics Center, New

Delhi, Center for Human Genetics, Bangalore. Ministry of health with assistancefrom Japan and US has established institute for research, manufacturing and clinical trials -

National Institute of Biologicals, at New Delhi.

Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Established in 1977 solely forthe advancement of biotechnology, it has spawned a number of industry collaborations andtechnology spin-offs .It worked with private institutions to produce India?s first recombinantDNA vaccine for Hepatitis B.

National Facility for Macromolecular Crystallography, BARC, Mumbai: Thefacility was created jointly by the Department of Atomic Energy and Department ofBiotechnology. Some of the specific uses were: Synthesis of primers required for cloning and

site directed mutagenesis of human carbonic anhydrase using a gene assembler. The FPLCsystem is routinely used for purification of mutants of recombinant carbonic anhydrase, HIV-Iprotease and Saponin.

National Facility for High Field NMR, TIFR, Mumbai: A number of contemporaryresearch in the area of biological NMR are pursued by the use of multidimensional NMRtechniques. These include : Structure and Dynamics of proteins, Nucleic acids, Nucleic acid -protein interaction, Conformation of bioactive peptides membrane architecture etc.

Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow: This facility is maintaining several

different strains of some species of rodents. The breeding unit of this facility at present inmaintaining a large number of animals, and every year supplies more than 50,000 animalswithin and outside the institute for use in various projects.

National Institute Of Immunology, New DelhiThe institute has so far developed,validated and technology transferred to the industry, the following diagnostic kits: two kitsfor pregnancy, one each for typhoid, hepatitis B, amoebic liver abscess and intestinalamoebiasis. The Institute has developed an ELISA test to detect the presence of HIV- 1 andHIV-2 Antibodies in serum with high specificity to the local strains.

National Brain Research Center, New Delhi-The Department established adedicated center for Brain Research, named as National Brain Research Center (NBRC) onthe 14th November, 1997. This center is dedicated to provide infrastructure facilities and acoordinated multidisciplinary team to work at the frontiers of neuroscience research andnetwork the existing groups and whenever required create satellite units to catalyze theoverall growth of this discipline in the country .

Some of the private organizations, which engage in biotechnology R&D are:

Dr. Reddy's Lab primarily a strong player in chemical research is moving in the biotechresearch. It is concentrating on therapeutic proteins made through recombinant DNAtechnology. It has already staked about Rs. 50 crores in this field and is expected to bringout the country?s third biotech vaccine- a cancer vaccine GCSF. Dr. Reddy's offer diagnosticproteins for HIV infection, therapeutic proteins for vaccines, cytokines and anti-virals.

Biocon Ltd. the first and largest biotech company in India, started in 1978 formulatingindustrial enzymes provided by an Irish company. Biocon retains its roots in the worldmarkets for food and industrial enzymes. It also has turned its fermentation technology tothe manufacture of drugs, developing a pipeline of statins and winning U.S. FDA approval thisyear to market generic lovastatin for cholesterol reduction. Biocon also has created contractdrug discovery, clinical trials, genomics and chemistry research units and sister companies.

Biocon's Syngene unit has 150 scientists working on drug discovery, chemical synthesis,molecular biology.

J Mitra & Co - currently manufacturing diagnostic test kits like HIV, HCV ( Hepatitis C ),


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HBV ( Hepatitis B ) etc. For these Products J Mitra is currently the market leader in India.They are evaluated by W.H.O., Geneva with excellent credentials, and are being exported toforty different countries.

Quintiles Transnational Corp.is the world's largest Contract PharmaceuticalOrganisation. It is a market leader in providing full-service contract research, sales,marketing, healthcare policy consulting and health information management services to theglobal pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices and healthcare industries. Quintiles

Spectral (India) Ltd. (QSL), a subsidiary of Quintiles Transnational Corp. offers clinical trialsmanagement services to Indian and multinational pharmaceutical and biotech organisations.In India, Quintiles has identified and developed therapeutic specialization in various areas.

Opportunia is a one-stop platform where entrepreneurs and emerging fast growthcompanies (doing business in India or with India), get end-to-end support and solutions forall points in the life cycle of it?s business - seeding, growth, diversification, doing IPO?s andmergers and acquisitions. Currently, has an excellent database of commercialisabletechnologies, and leading technical experts, in a wide range of specialised fields inbiotechnology, to give customised advice and services.

Jubilant Organosys is a part of Rs 1000 crore Jubilant Corp. The science active qualityproducts are relies upon by global customers in more than 50 countries. The other leadingcompany of the organization is Jubilant Biosys (P) Ltd that is a genomics service provider inthe area of bioinformatics and cheminoinformatics located in Bangalore.

The Thapar Grouphas evolved from a small coal agency to India's third largest corporateentity with significant presence in International business environment. The Thapar Group hasestablished manufacturing facilities in Africa & industries in the South East Asia, taken up &completed engineering contracts in the Middle East, provided full fledged technicalconsultancy for one of the largest joint sector pulp mills in Thailand. The groups majoractivities are paper, Engineering Electronics, Textiles Chemicals, Electricals & Electronics,Man-made Fibres, Leather, Agri Businesses and Biotechnology

ICICI too has jumped into the fray and decided to pump in funds to promote genomeresearch in India. This is a welcome break for Indian agriculture and the pharmaceuticalindustry.

Cipla has invested about Rs. 100mn in its biotech ventures with smaller companiesoverseas. Its focus research areas will be hepatitis and tropical diseases like malaria.

Strand Genomics is a biosciences knowledge management company with a seriouscommitment to develop innovative algorithms and solutions in the area of Bioinformatics.Strand's vision is to accelerate the drug discovery process by developing a suite of productsfor genomics, proteomics and in silico biologyStrand Genomics is supported by a world class

group of computer scientists with complementary skills in Combinatorial Algorithms,Stringology, Complex Systems Modeling, Machine Learning, Pattern Recognition, ClusteringTechniques, Graphics and Visualization, Database Management Systems and Internet

Technologies.

INTAS has become one of the leading pharmaceuticals groups in India since 1976 With astrong Formulation Development Facility, several innovative formulation have been

developed for the first time in India which include Nilol (film coated tablets of NifedipineSustained Release 20mg + Atenolol 50mg), Zolax-SR(Sustained Release tablets ofAlprazolam 1.5mg), Ciza-MPS (The latest prokinetic cisapride + Simethicone), Zen Retard(Controlled Release formulation of Carbamazepine) and Nimotas-CD (Nimesulide tablets inChewable + Dispersible form).Intas spends approximately 4% of its turnover on Research &Development. Significant research is carried out in the field of novel drug delivery system. Inthe area of Bulk Drugs synthesis, Intas is developing a new process to synthesisecarbamazepine and has already filed for process patent. Bioavailability and Bio-equivalence

studies for formulations are carried out at our in-house biostudy center.

Advanced Biochemical Limited (ABL), a Thane-based biotechnology major has tiedup with Pacific Corporation, South Korea, to set up a plant near Nasik to manufacturegenetically engineered industrial enzymes making it the first such tie-up in cutting-edgebiotechnology. The Rs 1bn ABL is one of the few biotechnology companies in the country,

which produces industrial grade enzymes while Pacific Corporation is the biggest producer ofenzymes in the Asian region. The plant is expected to achieve full capacity soon, will meetthe enzyme requirements of industries in northern and western India.

Zydus Cadila is another Indian player, which has decided to invest in genome technology.The company plans to invest as much as 7.5% of its turnover on R&D and tie up with otherR&D institutions internationally. Cadla is already associated with CDRI, Lucknow.

Wockhardt has made forays into this segment; the company has tied up with RheinBiotech. It spent $7.5 million on biotech research and in April it launched Erythropoietin.

East India Pharmaceuticals has tied up with US based Cleveland Clinic Foundation forresearch in biotechnology and molecular biology. As a first step towards this, the company

has set up a plan to upgrade and modernize its plant and machinery with an investment ofover Rs. 80mn.

DSQ biotech is making a large investment in research facilities in the area of agri-


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biotechnology and related research. The company has invested Rs400mn from the Rs2250mnthe group raised .through private placements. By 2002, DSQ hopes to have 400 peopleworking for bioinformatics division.

Biological E is another biotechnology company that has been in the market for some time.Incorporated in 1963, the company has a 63 per cent market share in the vaccines business.Biological E has a very strong research base and is scouting around for funds to expand itsactivities.

Monsanto has an association with MAHYCO, through which it is testing the cotton-Bt(Bacillus thuringiensis) seeds, the boll-worm resistant seed, and expected to hit the marketin two years. Monsanto is one of the best bets in the biotechnology segment.

Bayer- In a largest deal in this sector, the multinational Bayer has acquired Proagro groupof companies. The Rs. 90 Crs Proagro group has Proagro Seed Co., India. and Proagro-PGSIndia, India in its fold. This is a major player in agri-biotechnology and hybrid seeds business

with one of largest and most advanced research center in India.

Nicholas Piramal - Company is entering in the field of bioinformatics and genomics. Itsgenomics project is in alliance with Center for Biochemical Technology [named GenMed] and

will focus on disease target in area of cardiovascular, diabetes and cancer.

Panacea biotech - it is pharmaceutical company also engaged in the Pharma-biotechnology research, wherein it has products like vaccine for Oral polio and Hepatitis B.Company is also having WHO certified vaccine plant for supplies to UNICEF. Company hasjoint venture with Heber biotech S.A. Cuba, for recombinant Hepatitis B vaccine and

Erythropoetin. Company is having 720 million doses capacity. Ranbaxy Lab. - Company plans to use biotechnology in drug development and started

bioinformatics facilities for molecule modeling and drug designing. It has tied up with CBT for

pharmaco genomics research to upgrade its drug discovery capabilities. It is also joininghand with Dept. of Biotechnology for medical diagnostics. [Also looking for acquisitions inbiotech]

Serum Institute - Pune based WHO Certified Biopharma Company engaged in theproduction of vaccines for - DPT, MMR, MR, etc. Company has recently got 200 Crs order forvaccine from UNICEF.It is setting up a 100% EOU and expecting turnover of 300 Crs. It hasrecently acquired TVL a Hyderabad based company having technology to make Hepatitis B, toproduce this vaccine also from its new EOU.

Bio Merieux India - Company [a subsidiary of French medical diagnostic company BioMerieux], is planning to introduce a new diagnostic system for detection of HIV kit is based

on PCR technology, this test is based on detection of antigen as against detection ofantibodies. So it detects the disease faster then other kits.

india is poised for growth in biotechnology with an abundance of government initiatives andbio...

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