New Delhi, June 30, 2023:  Leaders from the Indian Bio & Health Sciences industry were felicitated by India's leading Bio & Health Sciences publication, BioSpectrum for their outstanding contribution over the past two years.

The BioSpectrum India Excellence Awards now in its 13th edition, in 2023, is an endeavour to honour the outstanding achievements of the biotech industry veterans. The BioSpectrum Awardees were unanimously chosen by the Jury headed by Dr Renu Swarup, Former Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

The Award Ceremony took place at Hyatt Regency in New Delhi. There were 3 categories of Awards. Jury Awards – selected by the Jury, and Ranking Awards given on the basis of the BioSpectrum annual industry survey the results of which are published in the April & June 2023 issues of BioSpectrum.  The award winner profiles are published in the July 2023 issue of BioSpectrum. The third category - Special Recognition Awards are given to organisations/ companies we believe will lead the way in the near future, not only in India but globally.

Details of Award winners-

BioSpectrum Jury Award Winners

• Lifetime Achievement Award- Dr K I Varaprasad Reddy, Founder, Shantha Biotechnics

Year 2020-21

• Businessperson of the Year - Dr Krishna Ella, Executive Chairman, Bharat Biotech
• Entrepreneur of the Year - Hasmukh Rawal, MD, Mylab Discovery Solutions
• Woman Entrepreneur of the Year- Dr Rachana Tripathi, Co-Founder, Huwel Lifesciences
• Product of the Year – Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine by Bharat Biotech
• Young Woman Scientist of the Year- Dr Ritu Trivedi, Principal Scientist, Central Drug Research Institute

Year 2021-22

• Businessperson of the Year - Mahima Datla, Managing Director, Biological E
• Entrepreneur of the Year - Dr Anand Anankumar, Co-founder, Bugworks Research
• Woman Entrepreneur of the Year - Geethanjali Radhakrishnan, Founder, Adiuvo Diagnostics
• Product of the Year - SSI Mantra Surgical Robotic System by SS Innovations
• Young Woman Scientist of the Year- Dr Pragya D Yadav, Scientist-F, National Institute of Virology

The panel of experts within the jury consisted of six members from different industry verticals including academics, investments, policy makers, consultants and incubators. Chaired by Dr Renu Swarup, Former Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, the jury panel members included- Dr Nilima A Kshirsagar, National Chair of Clinical Pharmacology, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, Chief Executive Officer & Director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP); Nitin Deshmukh, Advisor – Private Equity, Kotak Investment; Sujay Shetty, Global Health Industries Advisory Leader, Partner, PwC India; and Dr Pramod Garg, Executive Director, Translational Health Science & Technology Institute. The panel members picked out the winners for both FY 20-21 and FY 21-22 across six categories.

Talking about the BioSpecrum Excellence Awards 2023, Ravindra  Boratkar, Publisher and Managing Editor, BioSpectrum India, MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications, said “India's bioeconomy is poised to touch $300 billion by 2030 and with its rising innovation and scientific temper, India is set to join the global wave of a new industrial revolution. India is emerging as the world's major bioeconomy with fast growing biotech startups. The number of biotech startups has increased from 50 to 5,000 in the last 8 years. India has the potential to move from 5,000 to 50,000 within the biotech startup sector. Considering this growth, BioSpectrum also wants to be part of this growth journey of the Bio & Health Sciences startup ecosystem and contribute in different aspects like skill development, mentoring, investments to take it to the next level. We are launching MMA Spectrum Foundation to become a partner of this progress of Bio & Health Sciences startups ecosystem.”

Talking about the awards ceremony he said “BioSpectrum honours personalities from the life sciences sector whose work has, indeed, been worthy of recognition. As an esteemed media platform of the life sciences field, BioSpectrum not only recognises but also appreciates their excellence in their respective work areas by conferring upon them BioSpectrum Excellence Awards. Last year we could not organise it due to COVID, hence this year we are giving awards for two years.”

In her address, Dr Renu Swarup, Former Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (Jury Chair) congratulated all the award winners for their performance and achievements, and complemented BioSpectrum for its efforts in bringing the hidden jewels into the limelight. “These efforts of BioSpectrum are going to help the young students of biotechnology see these winners as role models. As the country is offering huge opportunities in the biosciences space, the young minds can grab these through their skill sets and talent to make a difference to the society”, she said.

Congratulating BioSpectrum for launching MMA Spectrum Foundation, she wished all success in its endeavour of providing the very best to the upcoming and young entrepreneurs in different fields of life sciences. 

In his acceptance speech Dr K I Varaprasad Reddy, Non-Executive Chairman, Shantha Biotechnics recalled his tough and solo journey of developing recombinant DNA vaccines with a motto of offering them at an affordable price three decades ago. 

Dr Varaprasad Reddy, who overcame the unethical and bad experiences and set the prices for vaccines in India for 11 years since the launch of Shantha Biotechnics, said “We have great doctors, great engineers in our country but not great leaders. The vaccine scenario has changed considerably in India. Currently, we are strong in production but we should collaborate with other countries for joint development and own the patent rights, to become global leaders.” 

Industry Ranking Award Winners (for FY 20-21 & FY 21-22)

Biopharma sector

•  Top Indian Biopharma Company- Serum Institute of India (For FY 20-21 & FY 21-22)
• Top MNC Biopharma Company- Sanofi Healthcare (For FY 20-21)
• Top MNC Biopharma Company- Novo Nordisk (For FY 21-22)

Industrial Enzyme sector

• Top Indian Industrial Enzyme Company- Rossari Biotech (For FY 20-21 & FY 21-22)
• Top MNC Industrial Enzyme Company- Novozymes South Asia (For FY 20-21 & FY 21-22)

BioService sector 

• Top Indian BioServices Company- Piramal Pharma Solutions (For FY 20-21 &; FY 21-22)
• Top MNC BioServices Company- IQVIA RDS (India) (For FY 20-21 & FY 21-22)

Medical Devices & Diagnostics sector

• Top Indian Medical Devices & Diagnostics Company- Transasia Bio-Medicals (For FY 20-21 & FY 21-22)

BioSupplier sector

• Top BioSupplier Principal Company- Waters Corporation (For FY 20-21)
• Top BioSupplier Distributor Company- Genetix Biotech Asia (For FY 20-21)
• Top BioSupplier Principal Company- HiMedia Laboratories (For FY 21-22)
• Top BioSupplier Distributor Company- Premas Life Sciences (For FY 21-22)

 Bioincubator 

• Top Bioincubator (Private Sector)- Venture Center Pune (FY 20-21)
• Top Bioincubator (Private Sector)- KIIT Technology Business Incubator (FY 21-22)
• Top Bioincubator (Public Sector)- Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (FY 20-21)
• Top Bioincubator (Public Sector)- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (FY 21-22)

Special Recognition Award Winners

• Bioinnovation Leader of the Year- Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre
• Industry Leader of the Year- Dr Gangadhar M Warke, Chairman & Managing Director, HiMedia Laboratories
• Best Innovator for COVID-19 Solutions – Dr Vishal G Warke, Director- R&D, Cell Culture & Immunology, HiMedia Laboratories
• Emerging Biostartup- Qure.ai (Powered by Biostartups)
• Special Recognition in Cell & Gene Therapy- ReGrow Biosciences
• Best Workplace in Bio & Health Science business - Siemens Healthineers, India (Powered by BioSpectrum Jobs)
• Digital Disruptors of the Year- Thermo Fisher Scientific, India
• Excellence in MedTech Innovation- Dräger India
• Business Person of the Year in Life Sciences Industry- Amit Sehgal, Managing Director and Country Head – Avantor India
• Most Promising Company: Engineering Solution & Services for Pharma, Biopharma & Nutraceutical Industry- Praj HiPurity Systems

About BioSpectrum India:

The BioSpectrum India edition was launched in March 2003 and is India's first comprehensive biotech business monthly magazine. It provides comprehensive coverage of the exciting happenings in life sciences, which include BioPharma, BioAgriculture, BioInformatics, BioIndustrial, BioSuppliers and BioServices and showcases the emerging Indian entrepreneurship in the biotech industry. In a short time, BioSpectrum has emerged as the most preferred platform to engage the life sciences industry in India and the Asia Pacific. It is also widely accepted by the research and academic community. Top key policymakers in the Central and State government use the magazine as a platform to reach out to the Indian Biotech Industry. BioSpectrum has columns by Indian's top policymakers, biotechnology professionals, scientists and NGOs. Readers of BioSpectrum are from among the key Policy Makers, Key Executives and the Influencer's in Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Companies, Research Heads of Clinical Research, Clinical Trials and Contract Manufacturing Organizations, Educational Institutes, Consultants, Fund Managers etc.