India can play pivotal role in global biotech industry

 
All this has helped India to emerge as a biotechnology player. The size of the Indian biotechnology industry has reached about $ 7 billion, driven by growing demand and increased R&D activities. “Generics, which is what we have been very good at, requires demonstration of safety and efficacy,” said Dr Karkaria. Hence regulations are important and call for lengthy clinical trials and significant investment across the value chain.
 
Proper standards are needed for good manufacturing and clinical practices. “To be able to become a biotechnology hub at the global level, India needs to ignite and take off to the next level,” commented Dr Karkaria. This can be achieved with innovation in research labs that create a compelling research environment, so that hi-tech solutions can be obtained in an affordable manner.

 
Speaking at the seminar, Dr M K Bhan, former Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, said, “Make in India is about declaration of an attitude. Attitude is extremely important. It involves leadership with justice, dealing with fundamental contradictions and learning how to seize opportunities. Scale and quality is what Make in India is about.”
 
According to Dr Bhan, biotechnology is global. “We cannot do biotechnology in isolation. It is about intellectual property landscaping and collaborative networks. There is no need to shy away from attractive collaboration,” he added.
 
Raising concern about scale and productivity, Dr Bhan said, “The top layer of productivity is missing. Industry should recognise that all nations are progressing simultaneously. Agriculture offers phenomenal possibilities. Powerful technologies are available, but they concurrently need a public understanding of the science involved.”