Indian Biotech Sector

Biotechnology is emerging as a very important field of science with massive development opportunities. It is an industrial use of life, i.e., micro-organisms and other living cells of plants and animals to produce substances beneficial to people.

This technology is used in various fields like agriculture, animal husbandry, biosensors production, genetic engineering, genetic mapping, cloning, embryo transfer technology, medicine, food, fuel, fodder, environment, etc.

In India, the main benefit that can be derived from the development of Biotechnology is in the field of agriculture and animal husbandry. These areas support maximum of our population. We can have new improved varieties of seeds, drought and insect proof species of plants, more nutritious and productive crops with minimum requirements and short duration of time can lead Indian agriculture to new heights.

Animal husbandry with Biotechnological application can lead to new animals with more milk and meat, more off-springs and wool can be produced by genetic technology. Healthy animals and birds with more eggs and healthy meat can be derived.

Cloning is also a possible field of biotechnology. Cloning of small animals have been made possible and even human cloning research are in progress. Cloning gives new springs with desirable qualities and therapeutic uses.

Medicines can be prepared with the use of Biotechnology, e.g., anti-biotics and vaccines of various diseases are prepared using this technology.

Embryo transfer technology and artificial insemination can be helpful in this direction.

Food quality can be improved through this technology. Bio pesticides and Bio fertilisers, Bio fuel and fodders indicate prosperous future.

 Indian Biotech Investment:

India, the darling of the world as far as bio technology sector is concerned offers tremendous opportunities to companies to make investment in the sector in India. Growth of all three areas of bio technology- medicinal, agricultural and industrial and conducive climate for the same make India as one of the ideal destination for world investment flow in India. Following are a few areas where opportunities exist for India:

Vaccines: India’s huge and growing population makes it among the world’s largest markets for vaccines of all types. India faces a growing demand for new-generation and ‘combination’ vaccines, such as DPT with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A and injectable polio vaccine, besides several veterinary and poultry vaccines. Apart from conventional vaccines, the rDNA have further market potentials and offer great opportunities to companies in the economy.

Medicinal discovery: Opportunities exist for enhancing production facilities and economies of scale based on licensing, joint ventures, setting up of new production bases and establishing royalty sharing arrangements for all therapeutic and medicinal products approved for marketing in India, namely Insulin, Alpha, Interferon, Hepatitis B surface antigen based vaccine, Erythropoietin, Streptokinase, Chymotrypsin, and others.

Agriculture sector: Hybrid seeds, including genetically modified seeds such as Bt cotton represent new business opportunities based on yield improvement, and development of a production base in biopesticides and biofertilisers would facilitate India’s entry into the growing organic or natural foods market. The Genetically Modified crops like corn, cotton, millet, mustard and other nutritionally improved vegetables also provide good potential in the agriculture sector and also leads to improvement in farm produce and productivity per hectare.

Medicinal Research: New research and developments in the field make India as a hub of cutting edge technology for development of new products and medicines having ready and developed market for the same. Indian pharmaceutical companies possess competitive skills in chemical synthesis and process engineering and extraction technologies, which they can leverage to develop new drugs and formulae. New investment into research and successful defending of patents by a number of Indian companies in ten world markets has opened new vistas of opportunities for Indian companies.

Clinical research and trials: With clinical trials in India costing less than a fraction of what it costs in developed markets, clinical research organizations can seek research and trial projects in India from international companies, provided they are able to demonstrate best international practices and follow up procedures.

Bioinformatics: Indian bioinformatics companies can play a significant role in critical areas such as data mining, lexican, mapping and DNA sequencing and extraction, molecule design simulation in world market for bilinformatics services. Complex algorithm writing and the use of computational capacities to study the 3D structures of proteins are the main skills required in this arena and India offers good investment opportunities for the same.