Bangalore Bio to focus on 'better tomorrow'

India's premier biotech event "Bangalore Bio" in February 2014 will focus on the role of bioscience and biotechnology for a "better tomorrow", Karnataka's IT, BT and Science & Technology Minister S.R. Patil said Friday.

"The theme of the three-day summit from Feb 14 will be on 'Biotech for a Better Tomorrow' and how biotechnology should be applied to discover new products and innovate solutions for affordable healthcare and higher farm productivity," Patil told reporters here.

British Nobel laureate, Sir John Bertrand Gurdon, will deliver the distinguished lecture. Gurdon was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2012 for the discovery that mature cells can be converted to stem cells.

World Food Prize Laureate Marc Van Montagu, founder and chairman of the Institute for Plant Biotechnology Outreach (IPBO), Ghent (Belgium), will also participate in the event and address the gathering.

"The conferences will deliberate on issues of pressing interest to the sector such as stem cells and regenerative medicine, biosimilars, personalised medicine, biomedical devices and digital health, bio-informatics for drug discovery and development, key issues in clinical trials development and agri-biotech and secondary agriculture needs," Karnataka's vision group on biotechnology and Biocon Ltd chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said at the road show.

International representation at the event will be from 15 countries, including Australia, Britain, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, UAE and the US.

Even states and provinces from various countries such as Atlanta, Georgia and Missouri from the US, Alberta from Canada and Victoria from Australia will be participating.

"About 100 exhibitors from overseas and across the country will showcase their technologies and products in pharma and agriculture at the event, where we are expecting over 3,000 business visitors," said IT and BT Secretary Srivatsa Krishna.

About 100 young researchers will present innovations through poster sessions.

A round table discussion on 'Harmonisation of Global Regulatory Framework' with special focus on Asia-Pacific will be held where regulators from the region will participate.

The summit will also have multi-track conferences, international trade expo, a CEO conclave, Bio Excellence awards, Bio-quiz and other networking events.

The highlight of the CEO conclave will be a panel discussion on innovation, bringing about business transformation and harnessing and building human resources.

Bio Excellence awards will recognise the contribution of start-ups and young biotech firms and individualsfor their outstanding achievements in the sector.

Bio-partnering will enable one-to-one (B2B) meetings to enhance partnering opportunities and help build collaboration network.

Bio-quiz will create awareness on the immense potential the biotech sector holds for science students across the state.

New initiatives such as workshops and tutorialswill emphasise on interaction and exchange of information among participants.