The fusion of science and innovation that is biotechnology can help us overcome many grave threats to the future of our very existence. The application of human ingenuity to biotechnology can give us viable answers to the survival challenges that we face—disease, hunger and a polluted planet.
Biotechnology is a remarkable enabler as well as a great leveller. Since the industry’s birth in 1976, commercialisation of cutting-edge research has helped millions of people improve their quality of life. It is providing affordable treatment and innovative cures for a wide range of diseases, offering greater food security in the face of ever-increasing pressure on land, and promoting environmental sustainability in an ecologically fragile world. Most importantly, biotechnology’s cost-effective revolution is empowering developing economies to meet the needs of its people and bridge the rich-poor divide.
The promise of biotechnology is immense for India, where the population, growing exponentially and lacking access to food and healthcare, is unable to progress economically and socially. Biotechnology can help India realise its potential. With its sizeable biotechnology cluster, Bangalore is the heart of this endeavour.
Close on the heels of the IT juggernaut, 200 of India’s 370 biotech companies have set up shop in the city, making it the country’s largest biocluster. With a turnover of Rs3,000 crore today, the city’s growth as a hub began in 1978 when India’s first biotech company, Biocon, was set up. However, as we slowly built the company, the sector began to evolve and by the 1990s, attracted by our success, several other companies were established.
The Bangalore Biocluster stands out because of its diversity and high level of innovation.
The city’s biotech players work in networked clusters rather than in isolation, enabling all to thrive: The sector outsources what it requires rapidly and cheaply, which spurs the growth of ancillary biotech companies, thus, strengthening the cluster effect. Feeding on the success of its constituent units and the culture of interdependence, Bangalore’s biotech sector has not looked back since its inception.
Several custom research companies, engaged in molecular biology and chemical synthesis-based research services, are spurring India’s growth in biotechnology. Others are taking bio-informatics research and development to the next level. For example, Strand Genomics has developed a number of proprietary software tools for data mining and drug discovery while Biocon has filed more than a 100 patents and produced the country’s first indigenously produced novel monoclonal antibody. Biocon has developed a novel bioreactor, aiding the production of enzymes followed by high-value bio- pharmaceuticals.
Clinigene started its CRO efforts by researching biomarkers for Type II diabetes, Gangagen Technologies is developing a range of proprietary phage-based products, Metahelix and Avesthagen have novel innovations in agri-biotechnology and X-cyton is developing DNA-based diagnostic kits.
A knowledge-intensive industry like biotechnology requires a strong academic foundation, where a creative scientific community provides the ideas that fructify in commercial success. Bangalore is home to academic and research institutions like the Indian Institute of Science, National Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Agricultural Sciences, Stem Cells Institute, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research which offer a fertile environment to nurture the scientific expertise needed for biotechnology’s growth.
This Life Sciences academic cluster has been critical to the city’s pre-eminence in biotechnology. The sector received a big boost when the Government of Karnataka, along with ICICI, set up the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB) as an international centre of excellence in bioinformatics.
Moreover, the recently unveiled Version II of the Millennium Biotech policy provides a huge fillip to biotechnology in the state. Offering fiscal incentives to the tune of Rs400 crore and benefits such as investment promotion subsidy, interest-free loan on VAT and financial support for patent registration, the policy goes to show the strong support the sector receives from the government. In a step towards improving the quality of human resources for biotechnology, the government will promote 10 biotech finishing schools selected by the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE) and the Vision Group on Biotechnology.
The policy aims to establish five biotech parks in Mysore, Mangalore, Dharwad and Bidar, apart from the Bangalore Helix. The government will also initiate a Bio Venture Fund with a corpus of Rs50 crore. It is no wonder that BangaloreBio, the annual international conference and exhibition held to showcase Karnataka’s biotech companies and offer a platform for the exchange of ideas, is a grand success each year.
Bangalore has truly emerged as a favoured biotech destination for the world and our innovations have found wide applications across fields ranging from medicine, agriculture and industry to informatics, biofuels and diagnostics — with encouraging results. The knowledge and techniques of biotechnology can help India and the world overcome many challenges both today and in the future.
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