Indian biotech sector shows rapid growth
The Indian biotechnology industry has made rapid strides with revenue touching Rs. 8,300 crore in 2006-07, an impressive growth of 30% over the previous year's Rs. 6,485 crore, according to Karnataka BT Vision Group chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.
The Indian biotechnology industry has made rapid strides with revenue touching Rs. 8,300 crore in 2006-07, an impressive growth of 30% over the previous year's Rs. 6,485 crore, according to Karnataka BT Vision Group chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.
Such a rapid rate of growth indicates that the sector is on track to meet the target of US$5bn by 2010, she added. In revenues terms the biopharma segment has touched Rs. 5,600 crore.
The Indian biotech sector was well poised to carve a global niche for itself, since there was an increasing acceptance of Indian clinical data by international regulators and the Indian biotech sector was rapidly climbing up the drug development ladder, Shaw said.
There are enough opportunities waiting overseas for start-up Indian biopharma companies through venture capital funding, outlicensing or joint research leading to marketing in Western markets, she claimed.
'India could have a significant cost advantage, if the companies carefully studied the global market with its constant changes and the target users,' she said. 'Opportunities exist in the US, and although access may be uniform throughout the EU, regional economies still differ from each other. Countries such as Romania or Bulgaria could be good manufacturing bases for Indian companies, compared with the UK or Germany.'