BioAsia 2005, the annual global bio business forum, will be organized from February 10-12, 2005 in Hyderabad.

BioAsia, promoted by the Andhra Pradesh government as part of the Genome Valley initiative, was launched in 2004. The forum is positioned as the annual global bio business feature in Hyderabad. The event is expected to witness a lot of action, as the Andhra Pradesh government is keen to further support and renew the initiatives of the previous government in the biotech sector. It maybe recalled that the first edition was promoted by the previous government headed by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) under the leadership of N Chandrababu Naidu. The current Congress-led government came to power winning the state elections in May 2004. The stage is now set to make this event very meaningful and big.

"The Andhra Pradesh government decided to promote BioAsia-The Global Bio Business Fourm, as an annual biotech event to give further impetus to its initiatives. BioAsia 2004 was a huge success based on the quality of speakers, delegates and exhibits, business discussions and initiations, quality representation from across the globe and sharing of knowledge that took place during the summit," informed Prof. D Balasubramanian, chairman, Biotech Advisory committee.

BioAsia consists of an international conference, a tradeshow, B2B Forum and a CEO conclave. According to the organizers of the event, over 60 exhibitors, 500 conference delegates, 70 internationally acclaimed speakers and 15,000 visitors from across the globe are expected to attend BioAsia 2005. The event is proposed to be hosted at Hotel Viceroy, Hyderabad, and aims at building global alliances and collaborations, showcasing products and services, acting as a platform for companies, government, and network with industry leaders, research scientists and media analysts.

There would be additional emphasis on agri biotech. Also the organizers intend to allocate more time for field visits to give an insight into the facilities available for foreign visitors. Another key feature of the event would be the launch of Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA). Dr BS Bajaj, chairman, All India Biotech Association, said, "The leaders of delegation of eight Asian countries who met during BioAsia 2004 had decided to form FABA to create a common platform for development of biotechnology in Asian countries. It would be launched at BioAsia 2005 and a management committee of 25 members would be formed with its secretariat located in Hyderabad."

"The initiatives taken by the government are resilient enough to spur growth and we are driving home the point that India in general and Hyderabad in particular would be the biotech hub of Asia." - Dr A Ashok

A biotech policy, the Genome Valley cluster, venture funds, and events like BioAsia are the legacy forwarded to Dr A Ashok, deputy secretary and director of biotechnology, industries and commerce department, Government of Andhra Pradesh. He assumed office in November 2004 and within a short span of two months, he is striving hard to make BioAsia a successful event. He wants to take the legacy further forward. In conversation with CyberMedia News, Dr A Ashok shares the views on the initiatives in store in Andhra Pradesh.

What is the AP government's stand on biotech?

The new government is equally committed to biotech and is consistently pursuing proactive policies to support and promote biotechnology in the state. A testimony to this is the fact that Andhra Pradesh has bagged the prestigious "BioSpectrum-Bio State of the year" in 2003, the first ever biotech industry award in the country.

The government proposes to redraft the biotech policy and introduce positive changes that would enable an investor friendly environment.

What is the status of some of the key initiatives?

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Government of Andhra Pradesh in association with IICT, which is the technical knowledge partner, are jointly setting up a biotechnology incubation center. This is the India's first biotech incubator being set up with a sanctioned outlay of Rs 20 crore. This center is aimed at promoting start-up companies to scale up their production and to commercialize their products. The design of the incubation center was through in November and the construction work would be taken up.

The Institute of Life Sciences, which is to be set up as a Center of Excellence in Genome Valley and the National Animal Resource Facility, which will be set up in partnership with ICMR and NIN, are being allocated 100 acres of land. The government has granted Rs 10 crore for the setting up of the Institute. Towards this, Rs 6 crore has already been sanctioned. Out of this, while a sum of Rs 1 crore is being dispatched, another Rs 5 crore is in the pipeline. For the Agri-Science park, Rs 3 crore has been sanctioned over a five-year-period. The Marine Biotech Park has been set up at Parawada, Visakhapatnam, spread over 218 acres of land. Two firms Biogenus and Celgen have already been allotted the required land. A Marine Biotech Complex is also proposed in the Marine Biotech Park in association with the Andhra University. The complex would focus on marine resources and would work towards developing vaccines to prevent diseases, apart from research on marine foods, nutraceuticals and fisheries.

What is the occupancy rate in the Genome Valley?

The cluster houses ICICI Knowledge Park, India's first knowledge park in collaboration with research community and industry. A Life Sciences Incubation Center has been set up with an investment of Rs 30 crore with eight labs of which four are exclusively for biotech and the rest for chemistry laboratories. At present, more than 10 laboratories are operating in the park and seven companies have booked 100 percent laboratory space. Another 20,000 sq ft of modular wet laboratory space is in the design stage and is expected to be ready by the mid of 2005.

The Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Biotech Park is a Rs 100-crore project, spread over 400 acres of land. Fourteen companies in the first phase spanning across 140 acres have occupied 75 percent of the space. KCP Biotech has completed the construction, while Vimta Labs has started the construction of its clinical research facility. Biological Evans has taken 50 acres of land for setting up the vaccine manufacturing facility and is asking for an additional 50 acres of space, which we would be sanctioning soon. Shantha Biotech is also in the process of setting up its facility. The SP group is also considering a plan to establish ready-to-occupy R&D laboratories for pharmaceuticals and biotech companies.

Sunitha Natti (CNS) in Hyderabad

BioAsia 2005 in February

The second edition of BioAsia, the global bio business forum, will be held in Hyderabad from February 10-12, 2005. Promoted by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Genome Valley, Hyderabad, BioAsia 2005 will provide the ideal meeting ground to transact business, build global alliances and collaborations, showcase products/services and network with industry leaders, research scientists and media analysts. BioAsia consists of an international conference, a tradeshow, B2B Forum and a CEO conclave.
For more details, contact: exhibition@bioasia.org, conference@bioasia2005.org, b2b@bioasia2005.org.

Bangalore BIO 2005

The Department of IT and Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka and Vision Group on Biotechnology will jointly organize Bangalore BIO 2005 from April 22-24, 2005. The core theme of the conference will be 'Bio-technology for billion people.' The three-day conference will be addressed by over 50 speakers from all across the globe. About 700 delegates are expected to attend the conference.
For further details, contact: biosec@bangalorebio.com or biodir@bangaloreit.com.

2nd Nutraceutical Summit

The 2nd Nutraceutical Summit International Seminar & Expo will be held from February 3-5 at Intercontinental, The Grand, New Delhi. The summit will lay special emphasis on good production, packaging and storage practices. It will showcase capabilities of Indian entrepreneurs in meeting global requirements.
For more details, contact: mahinder@MMACTIV.com, ravi@MMACTIV.com or kalindi@MMACTIV.com.

Biobusiness 2005

BioBusiness 2005 is the seventh event in the world-renowned BioBusiness series of senior level biotech-pharma partnering meetings. It will be held from January 25-28, 2005 at Geneva, Switzerland. The key attractions include the state-of-the-art one-to-one partnering meetings service. The meeting will also feature an exceptionally senior speaker faculty of 49 business development and licensing thought-leaders.
For more details, contact: pives@wbr.co.uk

Biotech International Conference 2005

The CHEMTECH Foundation will also conduct Biotech International Conference 2005 from February 10 - 11, 2005. Some of the topics that would be covered include Innovation through Biotech: Mechatronics- Innovative Engineering, Financing Biotech and infrastructure projects: Venture Capital / Benchmarking Infrastructure Facilities and Genomics & Proteomics: Genes and the future of mankind.

Drug Discovery & Development Conference

The Industrial Pharmacy Division of the IPA and IPA Maharashtra State branch along with the AAPS, FIP, APSTJ and FPTI, will organize a conference on February 11- 12, 2005 in Mumbai. The meet will focus on technology platforms and issues related to early selection and development of candidate drug molecules. Scientists can play a major role in drug discovery research by utilizing their vast skill and expertise in the areas of medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, formulation development and clinical assessment.
For further details, contact: ipacentr@mtnl.net.in

Biotech India 2005

Biotech India 2005, CII's 2nd International exhibition and conference on Biotechnology will be held from February 9-12 in New Delhi. The event will bring together key players of the industry, researchers and academicians, and relevant government representatives under one umbrella. It will exhibit state-of- the-art technologies and focus on emerging opportunities in areas such as human and animal healthcare, agriculture and industrial use.
For more information, contact: g.k.raman@ciionline.org