"It's about not doing new things, but doing the same things differently"
-Dr MK Bhan, secretary, DBT, India
The National Biotech Development Strategy, unveiled recently by the government, is expected to set new precedents for the biotech industry, as the aim now is to focus on innovation, technology transfer, and development of an effective scientific pool amongst others. The sector is clearly poised to take a huge leap forward in the future with the successful implementation of the strategy. In an exclusive interview, Dr MK Bhan, secretary, DBT, talks about the strategy and how it proposes to make a difference to the promising biotech sector.
What would you say is the core idea behind this policy?
It is about not doing new things, but doing the same things differently. It is about looking at an institution and transforming its capacity with an integrated package. UICT Mumbai, for example, has an excellent bioprocess engineering department and we created an integrated capacity for molecular biology there through molecular biology positions and new labs. It has started the biofuels program now. We plan to create a couple of such centers. The idea is to bring an institutional change in the institutions, create successful public-private partnerships, and enable smooth functioning of the facilities, movement of biologicals, and streamline the regulations. The whole idea is to create institutions with a difference so that they are facilitators. We need more younger and mid-level people in the system which is what we shall be achieving by attracting scientists from abroad......More

India advantage
If global companies have to move forward, they must have an India strategy
A few days after announcing the new biotechnology policy, India's Science & Technology Minister, Kapil Sibal, dwelt at length on India's advantages in R&D and innovation, at an event organized by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in New Delhi. Excerpts from interventions during the event:

What are India's advantages in the global economic landscape?
One of India's advantages is that it is a living and working democracy. It is perhaps because of this foundation that India's economy is growing at eight-nine percent in recent years that has given the opportunities for entrepreneurs and ordinary people to move ahead. ...More

"DNA vaccines can be produced more rapidly than conventional vaccines"
Dr. Pundi Narasimhan Rangarajan, associate professor, Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, has won this year's Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award instituted by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. He is one of the five recipients from Bangalore among the eleven scientists.
Dr. Rangarajan, who is a doctorate in molecular biology with a specialisation in gene expression and infectious diseases, has been engaged in the research of DNA vaccine for rabies, hepatitis-B and Japanese Encephalitis. In an interview with Nandita Vijay, Dr. Rangarajan provides an overview of the science research scenario. Excerpts:

What are the factors that led you to bag the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award for medical sciences?
The award is an honour to my research efforts in rabies and Japanese Encephalitis. The award gives tremendous confidence to my abilities and it will also throw open potential opportunities for newer research initiatives....More

'We are bullish on India':Perkin Elmers
Nov 1, 2007: PerkinElmer India recently unveiled its latest generation of products as part of its expansion plan for the fast growing Indian life sciences and instrumentation market. In an interview with BioSpectrum, Gregory L Summe, Chairman & CEO, PerkinElmer, who was recently in India, highlighted the company’s India specific business plans. Excerpts:
What is the contribution of the Asia Pacific market to the global sales of PerkinElmer?
Asia Pacific makes for about 20 percent of our revenue and about 40 percent of our people are based in the Asia Pacific region. We have more of our manufacturing activities over here. The percentage of people will grow because we are investing ahead of the demand, and this region is growing faster than the rest of the world. It has a higher growth rate than Europe or the Americas so it is climbing as a percent. Within the Asia Pacific region, India has been a strong performer for us—at more than 20 percent a year....More

"We will be in top five, globally by 2012"

Led by its young CEO Malvinder Mohan Singh, Ranbaxy is in step with the changes globalization is bringing about. A blockbuster year 2006 with $1.3 billion in revenues, with international business contributing around 80 percent of the revenues, manufacturing operations in nine countries and ground operations in 49 countries have positioned the company to take advantage of the opportunities that are abound. However, ahead are challenges that involve surviving and flourishing in the highly competitive generics market. To retain the leadership, the company needs to make drug discovery and drug delivery platforms a part of the expansion agenda...More