BIO-IT Has a Tremendous Opportunity
Kiran Mazumbdar Shaw,
Founder – Biocon and President,
Association ofBiotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE)
| ABLE- DBTpartnershipencouragesentrepreneurworkshop andjudge businessplans of the nextgeneration toprovide the bestto the biotechindustry |
Kiranshares her thought in a tête-a-têtewith Shally Makin, ENN on the initiatives in the Biotechnology sector. Shebelieves that we should be led by science and not by activism.
Being the Founding President ofABLE, with what vision you hadbrought this association intoaction?
ABLE is a not-for-profit pan-India forumthat represents the Indian BiotechnologySector. It was launched inApril 2003, after industry leaders felta need to form an exclusive forum torepresent the Indian BiotechnologySector. It has over 270 members fromall across India representing all verticalsof the sector like agri biotech, biopharma,industrial biotech, bioinformatics,investment banks and centurecapital firms, leading research andacademic institutes and law firms andequipment suppliers.
What initiatives have ABLEworked towards the sector overthe past decade?
ABLE has initiated to acceleratethe pace of growth of the Biotechnologysector in India, throughpartnering with the Government intheir biotechnology initiatives todeliver optimal policies and createa positive regulatory environment,encouraging entrepreneurship andinvestment in the sector, providing aplatform for domestic and overseascompanies to explore collaborationand partnerships, we were able tocatalyse regulatory reforms, forgingstronger links between academiaand industry and showcasing thestrengths of the Indian biotech sector.ABLE has focused on regulatoryissues, training programmes,connecting with media and investorcommunity to understand the opportunitiesto invest in this sector.ABLE- DBT partnership encouragesentrepreneur workshop and judgebusiness plans of the next generationto provide the best to the biotechindustry. We hold educationalworkshops and conferences, tryingto build this potential bio economyto a huge size and shape through innovativeways of thinking.
Can you highlight theachievements ABLE has in itsflag to vouch about?
Some of the milestones that ABLEhas achieved are those related to DrMashelkar Committee report on recombinantproduct, Innovative programsof the DST viz. BIRAP andBIPP, Vision document for the IndianBiotech industry, Roadmap for the biotechIndustry, building the BiotechnologyEntrepreneurship Studentsteam (BEST) and North East LifeScience Entrepreneurship (NEST)programs, the BioInvest Program andthe International promotion of BrandIndia through organizing the IndiaPavilion in various BIO Shows. For along time, our pharma products wereapproved by the Genetic EngineeringApproving Committee, it should.
| Woman of Substance A successful technocrat of globalstanding, Kiran Mazumbdar Shawheads Indias leading Biotechnologyenterprise, Biocon. Her pioneeringefforts in biotechnology have drawnglobal recognition both for IndianIndustry and Biocon. She presentlyserves on the Advisory Council ofthe Governments Department ofBiotechnology where she has beeninstrumental in bringing government,industry and academia together, tochart a clear and progressive growthpath for Biotechnology in India. KiranMazumbdar Shaw is the recipient ofseveral prestigious awards includingthe most cherished awards -nationalawards, Padmashri (1989) and PadmaBhushan (2005) presented to her by thePresident of India, for her pioneeringefforts in Industrial Biotechnology.Under her stewardship, Biocon hasevolved from its inception in 1978 as anindustrial enzymes company to a fullyintegrated Biopharmaceutical enterpriseencompassing a well balanced businessportfolio of products and services witha research focus on Diabetes, Oncologyand Auto-immune disease. Her businessBiocon, worth USD 800million, is oneof Indias leading drug companies andemploys more than 6,000 people at itsvast campus in Bangalore.
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not be an environmental issue and sowas brought under DCGI for being ahealthcare issue solely. We broughtout a number of white papers, biosimilarguidelines are now developed forthe industry by us. ABLE has taken ahuge initiative in educating the importanceof genetically modified crop inagribio sector.
How do you foresee thebiotechnology sector throughyour eyes?
We want some pharma companies tobe part of this association and addknowledge to the members of thegroup. We will keep working towardsimproving and addressing regulatory
challenges and works on how todeliver it efficiently. We need to lookat inherent challenges, as the investmentpay back is very long in thissector unlike others. The inherentgestational timeline gives you a verylong term investment but with anexponential return. Its about creatingthe right skills and training intothe next generation entrepreneurswhich includes a lot stakeholdersstarting from farmers, scientists,and engineers and technology innovators.We should also focus on thelarge natural advantages that wehave and convert focus on these innovationswhich can help us to scaleglobally. I believe after biotechnology,India should look for opportunity ingenomics and bio IT.
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About Biocon
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Manufacturing is another neglectedsector with an economicmodel that is much skewed and onlycontributes 15 percent in the GDP.
This offers employment opportunities,as we being the largest vaccinemanufacturers, largest manufacturersin generic drugs, we need to findanswers if we can repeat the historyin being the largest manufacturers inbiologics. Can we go beyond genericvaccines, DNA vaccines is what I seethe future to creep into the biotechnologysector
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