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Interview: Dr. B S Bajaj
“I believe that India will emerge as the largest supplier of vaccines and some other biotech products all over the world in the years to come”
Dr. B S Bajaj
31/07/2006
India has the potential to emerge as a significant force in biotechnology worldwide. It is a fact that the Indian biotech sector is growing at a very fast rate and the consumption of biotech products is expected to quadruple in the next decade. “India will certainly become one of the major world leaders in areas such as biopharmaceuticals, particularly vaccines, enzymes, bioinformatics and agribiotech products”, Dr. B S Bajaj predicts, Secretary General of the Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA) and Chairman of All India Biotech Association (AIBA) - Southern Chapter.
With over 50 years of experience in the field of biotechnology, Dr. Bajaj is convinced that the city of Hyderabad is emerging as the new biotech cluster in India. He points to a lack of a positive approach by venture capitalists and the current licensing and regulatory procedures as some of the key problems facing biotechnology in India today. Dr. Bajaj is also a member of the Biotech Advisory Committee of the Indian government of Andhra Pradesh, the third largest State in India.
EFB: The Indian biotechnology industry is growing at a rate of 38 percent annually, with an estimated increase in revenue of 5 billion dollars in 2010. What are the main reasons of the high growth rate in the sector?
Dr. B S Bajaj: “The Biotechnology sector has in recent years witnessed an accelerated growth with approximately 280 industries established in India. The human capital of India is perceived to be the key driver for global competitiveness and the present rate of growth. Pharma companies such as Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Ranbaxy, Dabur, Astrazenica, Torrent, Sun-Pharma, Wauckhardt and several others are diversifying themselves into modern Biotechnology.
The Indian pharma industry for bulk drugs and formulation production, in addition to the well-established base for R&D in this field, has shown an average annual growth rate of approximately 20%, which is insufficient for large scale expansion programs, and as compared to a 39% annual growth rate in the field of biotechnology. For future growth, the Indian pharma industry is looking towards biotechnology, particularly in biopharmaceuticals, since the end users and the marketing channels are more or less similar. Encouraged by the tremendous turn around achieved by pharma companies in India during the last two decades, most of the companies are following the same pattern in achieving high rates of growth in related biotechnology segments, particularly those drugs which are no longer on patent. Furthermore, India has achieved a remarkable growth and status in the field of IT industry, which is also an inducement for pharma companies who enter into biotechnology, particularly bioinformatics and drug discovery through molecular modeling. Achieving a target of USD 5 billion towards 2010 is quite realistic and feasible. Maybe even before 2010.”
EFB: What have been the most significant achievements of biotechnology in India in the last decade?
B S B: “Some pharma companies have diversified into biotechnology and some start-up companies engaged exclusively in biotech have achieved a significant level of success, particularly in vaccines, enzymes, monoclonal antibodies, GN-CSF (Filgrastin), Erythropoietin, Streptokinasae, Taxol derivatives, anti-ulcer drugs and bioinformatics. For instance, I would like to mention vaccine products such as tetanus, rabies, oral polio vaccine, measles, hepatitis B, DPT, BCG, diphtheria toxoid, interferon, and so on produced in India in this period. In addition, animal vaccines are also being produced in large quantity. It is a fact that India is uniquely positioned in the global vaccine market, being the world’s largest producer and accounting for approximately one third of the global sales. It is believed that India will emerge as the largest supplier of vaccines and some other biotech products all over the world in the years to come.”
EFB: How has research in plant biotechnology adapted to the conventional advances of the Green Revolution in India?
B S B: “India has the second largest population in the world and it continues to grow fast. Naturally the requirements for food are also increasing, and land and water resources are limited. The Green revolution of the sixties brought big relief to India in achieving self-sufficiency in food grains. However, there are now indications that we are again reaching a situation of food shortages. After a long period of two decades of self sufficiency in wheat production, the Indian government is again looking to the import of wheat to avoid a serious situation of food shortages in the country. Thought of a second green revolution has already started in our country. Considering the constraint imposed by limited land and water resources, the situation can be overcome only by increasing the agricultural output by way of introducing the crop varieties for higher yield, better nutrition and better keeping qualities. Apart from various other efforts, including improved agricultural practices, use of better fertilisers and the control of pests and diseases, genetically modified crops are the solution.”
EFB: India is expected to register pest-resistant Bt eggplant this year, which would be the first biotech food crop approved in India. What is the growth potential for biotech crops?
B S B: “Agricultural research is being directed towards transgenic crops like Rice, Brassica, Mungbeans, Pigeonpea, Cotton, Tomato, Potato and Lysine-rich wheat in various agricultural universities and other institutions. Both the nutriceutical market and the seed market are also growing fast in India, and will attract industry related to agriculture. Research is also being carried out on Plant Tissue culture and Micro propagation in several companies such as ITC, Hindustan lever, Godrej and many small scale companies on spices, ornamentals, vegetables, fruits, etc. The great potential of biotech crops is needed now in India. Also recently (in March 2006) the All India Biotech Association, Southern Chapter (AIBA-SC) held an international conference on “Biotechnology for sustainable Agricultural and Agro Industries”, jointly with Andhra Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation, the Federation of Asian Biotech Associations and the Agricultural University at Hyderabad. The three day conference, which received financial support from the Government of Andhra Pradesh, attracted 800 delegates from India and abroad. Lots of emphasis was placed on the use of bio-fertiliser and bio-pesticides and development of pest and disease resistant varieties of various food crops, vegetables and fruits. The following recommendations emerged from this conference, for consideration of the State and Central governments in India: 1) The set up of an Institute of Agribiotechnology and an Animal Biotechnology Research Institute at Hyderabad, 2) the establishment of an agribiotech venture capital, 3) and the creation of an Agribiotech and Agro-Industries cluster for Research, Education and industrial production in Andhra Pradesh. In fact, the recommendation of establishing an Animal Biotechnology Research Institute has already been approved by the Indian government.”
EFB: Bangalore is currently housing almost half of the total biotech firms in India. Is this southern city the biotech cluster of India?
B S B: “Bangalore has emerged as the largest hub of IT industry. It was initially expected that biotech industries would also grow in the same manner clustered in and around Bangalore, but the recent trends are somewhat different. Hyderabad is now emerging as the largest biotech hub in India. A large number of individual scientists, companies and institutions from the US and Europe are looking towards Hyderabad for setting up facilities, either wholly owned or joint ventures with Indian partners. The first Biotech Park in India was set up at Hyderabad and its first and second phases are already fully occupied. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has earmarked more than 400 acres of land to start the third phase of the Biotech Park. Hyderabad also has world-class R&D centres in biotechnology such as the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB), the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting & Diagnostics (CDFD), the University of Hyderabad, the Institute of Life Sciences, and excellent R&D facilities set up by some of the industries like Dr. Reddy’s, Shanta Biotechnics, Bharat Biotech International and several others.
Among other initiatives, the Indian government has recently decided to set up an Animal Biotechnology Research Institute at Hyderabad, next to the Biotech Park in Genome Valley, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). The government of Andhra Pradesh is also in the process of setting up a Marine Biotech Park at Visakapatnam, which will cover an area of 200 acres of land in association with Andhra University. The state government has furthermore established a joint Agri-biotech Park, in collaboration with the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). 
In addition, the government, through public and private collaboration, has incorporated a company by name APIDC-Venture Capital Limited, being the first Biotech focussed venture capital fund at Hyderabad.
With the aims of developing a centre of excellence in the area of Clinical research, the government of Andhra Pradesh is also planning to start a Training Institute for Clinical Trials, an initiative supported by leading industry players and corporate Hospitals at Hyderabad. Further testimony to the rapid progress of Hyberadad as a leading Indian biotech centre is the fact that Andhra Pradesh was awarded the prestigious “Biostate of the year 2003” by Biospectrum.”
EFB: What other Indian regions are emerging as good investment opportunities for the biotechnology sector?
B S B: “Other than Bangalore (Karnataka) and Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), some of the centres in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttara Pradesh and Punjab are emerging as centres for industry in the field of biotechnology.”
EFB: What are the current main fields of research in Indian biotechnology?
B S B: “Genomics, proteomics, biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, enzymes, monoclonal antibodies, bioinformatics, agricultural biotechnology and molecular modelling for drug discovery are among the current main fields of research in Indian biotechnology. There are though a few fields in which Indian R&D should focus further: Areas such as anticancer drugs, HIV vaccines (since India is having sizable population suffering from AIDS), molecular modeling and drug discovery, malaria vaccines, tropical diseases, stem cell research and applications (particularly for diabetics, cardiovascular diseases, ophthalmology, and neurobiology). There’s also a need to focus more in agribiotechnology, particularly in transgenic crops in food grains, vegetables and fruits. For developing varieties for disease resistance to pests, with and high yields and post harvest resistance to spoilage and drought.”
EFB: Is biotechnology less developed in the northern part of India?
B S B: “To some extent, yes. Biotechnology has developed in a much further way in the southern and western parts of India than in the northern part of the country. The reason is the presence of IT industry, linkage with pharma industry, world-class research institutions and universities, relatively more affordable cost of living and availability of skilled and highly educated manpower at a lower cost than in the northern part of this country.”
EFB: What are the problems facing biotechnology in India?
B S B: “The problems being faced by biotech industry in India could be summarized in three global areas: the licensing and regulatory clearances, the recent start up of R&D in biotechnology for basic research resulting into lack of original molecules for commercial production, and the lack of a positive approach of venture capitalists. The state and central governments of India have been very keen in trying to correct these three constraints in recent years.”
EFB: What actions are being taken by the Indian government to promote biotechnology?
B S B: “The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), set up in 1986 by the Indian government, has become very active in recent years in promoting biotechnology. The government of India has also earmarked funds for biotechnology ventures including supporting the biotech industry with soft loans by the Technology Development Board (TDB). Each state government -particularly Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka- has earmarked funds for development of biotechnology, both for R&D and commercial ventures.
Recent trends are to establish Academia and Industry collaborations particularly by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, CCMB, Hyderabad, CDFD, NII Delhi, CDRI, Lucknow, and IMTECH, Chandigarh. These trends have resulted in setting up and augmenting Biotech facilities in India such as, among several others, Shantha Biotechnics, Bharat Biotech International, Biological-E, Dabur and Pemacea. The Department of Biotechnology of the Indian government has also announced its support to set up 10 Biotech Parks in India, five of which are already in the process of being established.”
EFB: Why should European biotech businesses choose India as a destination for collaborations?
B S B: “Actually, there are many reasons. Indian pharma industries had a value of USD 3 Billion in 1997, which has since grown to USD 25 Billion in 2005. This shows the strength and initiative of the Indian business community. The trend of bio generics will enable Europe and USA to produce known drugs more cheaply in India through well-established companies who can meet European and US GMPs standards. The Bioinformatics field is driven primarily by advances in information technology in India. Molecular modelling, structure related to function, genome sequences and drug discovery are some of the recent trends of Research in Biotechnology. The IT strength of India will be a great asset. BioAsia, an international conference, has been conducted at Hyderabad as an annual event for the last 3 years by the government of Andhra Pradesh jointly with All India Biotech Association Southern Chapter and the Federation of Asian Biotech Associations. BioAsia 2006 attracted delegates from 34 countries, featuring primarily Bio business partnering. In addition, the following factors should attract European Biotech companies to choose India as a good destination for investments and collaborations: a) Setting up USFDA approval office in India; b) Huge market due to world second largest population; c) India’s pool of highly skilled technical resources; d) Large English speaking population; e) Low cost structures and enabling policy environment; f) Government incentives in providing infrastructural facilities.”
EFB: How can All India Biotech Association (AIBA) help promote biotechnology in India?
B S B: “All India Biotech Association has the main objective of promoting biotechnology in India, by way of networking with various state governments to provide infrastructure facilities and remove various hurdles. AIBA also provides a platform for bio-partnering with companies and institutions in developed countries and those in India and fostering technology transfers, joint ventures, outsourcing of products, etc. In the past few years AIBA has been involved deeply in organising the annual event BioAsia 2004, 2005 and 2006, where a large number of B2B meetings were arranged between companies from the US, Europe and India. This has resulted in significant development of biotechnology, particularly in Andhra Pradesh. These activities are being continued with greater emphasis on bio-partnering.”