The Hindu : 'India forging ahead in biotech'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 23, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

'India forging ahead in biotech'

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD JUNE 22. The Indian biotechnology industry, which stands sixth in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of the number of companies, is poised to emerge as a significant force on the global biotech map, says a report by global consultants, Ernst and Young.

Although India is far behind Australia which has over 200 biotech companies, or even the second-placed Korea, a rapid growth is forecast for the biotech industry in the country due to rising public interest in the sector, growing investments by traditional business houses and tax incentives.

"Beyond Borders'', the Global Technology Report 2002, compiled by Ernst and Young for the 16th year in succession was released here by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu.

The report says the global biotech industry comprises 4,284 companies across 25 nations. It is upbeat about the short-term prospects of the industry. Despite the lacklustre performance of the economy, the global biotech industry raised more than $10 billion in venture capital and private and public equity funds, representing its second-best financing year, after 2000.

Indian expertise in the manufacture of generic pharmaceuticals has also provided a platform for the sunrise biotech industry.

Worth $3 billion in 1997, the pharma industry is expected to rise to $ 9 billion by 2005.

The operational cost in India is one-seventh to one-tenth of those in the developed markets and among the lowest in the world.

Moreover, the availability of a large pool of scientific talent at this moderate cost brings down the overall cost of innovation and drug discovery.

Besides, the State Governments have taken initiatives to set up biotech parks, while the Department of Biotech is funding several R & D projects, the major one being the $ 20 million Indian Genome Initiative to study the genetic variation of the population.

Above all, there is a good R and D infrastructure, primarily in the Government sector, an established pharma industry and strong interest in biotech from the investment community.

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