What is the potential for micro array tools in India?
There is a good market potential for micro arrays in India with the growth of biotechnology. It is emerging in India but not as much as you see in the US and Europe. Some of the people, I met in the Indian industry, have expressed the desire to use micro array technology tools for research and development. So in the next one or two years, it will surface as researchers will start using the technology and tools of micro arrays and also get trained in it. 

What will be your focus areas in India? 
The focus will be on big pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Corning has a diversified portfolio including glass and ceramics, optical fiber, display technologies, environmental technologies and life sciences. Corning has brought together its core competencies in biophotonics, surface chemistries, and biochemistry to generate innovative solutions for drug discovery and research. The drug discovery and development branch of the life sciences division develops and offers tools and technologies for cell culture, bioprocessing, lead ID and for microarray fabrication and processing. Hence we look at positioning ourselves in pharmaceutical as well as biotechnology space in the country. 

What is the total market size for micro array tools?
According to reports, the global market size for micro arrays is about $400 million. South East Asia, specifically India and China, account for about 2-3 percent share. Worldwide about 100 companies are using these tools. This includes the companies providing different surfaces, surface chemistry, enzymes, aligo content equipment providers, fabrication of micro arrays etc. 

What is your observation of the Indian players? 
The main focus of the Indian companies is towards contributing functional genomics and not on micro arrays. It is an informatics part. Over the past two years, a few companies like Strand Genomics have been working in these areas and have come out with informatics tools that would serve the backend part of micro arrays for data mining, data analyzing and data acquisition and so on. The initial trends are towards providing services. 

Do you see any competition from Indian companies five years down the line? 
We do see competition but not at the present stage. Several companies from the West are establishing their branches in India to develop software tools, taking advantage of the software skills of Indians. Indian companies will catch up as they do have the capabilities and talents to develop micro array tools. However, early movers will have an advantage. 

Narayan Kulkarni in Mumbai