The Indian biotechnology sector has grown significantly in past few years. In this article we will discuss about the current scenario of this industry all along introducing to some of hottest biotechnology startups in India.
Over the years, the Indian biotechnology industry has grown fast! We all should feel proud for the Indian biotechnology industry as it holds a share of two percent of global biotech industry. If it keeps progressing with same pace, it will surely become a prominent player in the global biotech industry very soon.
Over the years, the Indian biotechnology industry has grown fast! We all should feel proud for the Indian biotechnology industry as it holds a share of two percent of global biotech industry. If it keeps progressing with same pace, it will surely become a prominent player in the global biotech industry very soon.
The biotechnology segment is the fastest growing segment in India. It is valued about $11 billion currently and it will touch the $ 100 billion mark by 2025 as per the forecast of the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE). Furthermore, the Make in India website mentioned that the bio-tech industry size is expected to go up to USD 11.6 Billion by 2017 and it is expected to grow at 30% growth rate every year. The increased demand for healthcare services, R&D activities, clinical capabilities etc. will help this sector to witness fast growth in the future. It is believed that the ecology and the population both factors play a key role in the overall growth of biotech industry because they made India the most preferred country for clinical trials, research and development of biotech products and outsourcing of many other related contracts etc.
With the presence of some top biotechnology companies like Biocon, Panacea Biotec, Serum Institute of India, Wockhardt, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Novozymes, Indian Immunologicals , Shantha Biotechnics, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Bharat Serums and Vaccines Limited, India has got the chance to come as a leading player in the list of global biotech industry. All these companies are using India’s advantages like cost effectiveness, high population and skilled manpower to become recognized players worldwide. The industry is in great position and more money is being funneled by innovative ideas in biomedical, environmental, food and agriculture segments. Immuno-oncology, Stem cell therapies, 3D bioprinting, personalized medicine – theranostics, biomarkers and gene therapy are some of the upcoming segments. The cities like; Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad are hubs of Biotechnology companies. The agencies which have been supporting biotechnology’s R&D majorly include Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and many more.
India’s biotech industry is the 3rd largest company in Asia-Pacific region and has all set to enter in a new era. Many Indian biotechnology companies are in outsourcing of R&D services and have gained recognition worldwide with numerous export contacts. The areas like genetic research and drug development & designing are also gaining prominence speedily. All this is possible because investments are done by the government and non government bodies at every level. These efforts also helped to improve the biotechnology startup scenario to create tremendous opportunities in every segment. The government’s initiatives like DST, DBT, CSIR and BIRAC are also supporting entrepreneurial individuals to establish startups. Whereas, emerging Bio-Technology parks have well established infrastructure and equipments for startups help.
The Indian bio- tech industry can be divided in to five major segments – bio-services, bio-agriculture, bio-industrial, bio-pharma and bio informatics. Bio-services generally refer to clinical trials, manufacturing and research contracts. Under Bio-agriculture segment scientists work on biopesticides, biofertilisers and genetically modified seeds that help to modernize the traditional agriculture applications. Biopharma deals in biopharmaceuticals including drugs, proteins, antibodies which are useful for therapeutics and diagnostics. Bio-industrial segment includes the research work related to yeast-based products, enzymes and amino acids etc. the remaining segment Bio-informatics represents bioIT services.
A number of startups have started their research and development operations in different parts of India and are performing well. The list of biotechnology startups is never ending. However some of them are explained below:
Apart from these names, there are numerous other startups working in biotechnology area. As this segment requires huge money to start a company or research lab, most of the times people avoid taking risk. Some startups have their own research setups and some of them are using others. Some has started with developing a small microbiology lab and succeed to build it as a successful venture within 2-3 years.
No doubt India has a huge potential to become a leading bio-tech hub, however, it needs to take more concrete steps especially toward setting up of R&D labs and other institutes. It needs to tackle the gap at funding and policy domains so that talented professionals of Indian origin can start their research centers easily in the country and become a part of the cutting-edge research at world level. Medical science institutions and other educational and training institutes also need to work closely with each other to give a boost to this sector.
Over the years, the Indian biotechnology industry has grown fast! We all should feel proud for the Indian biotechnology industry as it holds a share of two percent of global biotech industry. If it keeps progressing with same pace, it will surely become a prominent player in the global biotech industry very soon.
Over the years, the Indian biotechnology industry has grown fast! We all should feel proud for the Indian biotechnology industry as it holds a share of two percent of global biotech industry. If it keeps progressing with same pace, it will surely become a prominent player in the global biotech industry very soon.
Figures Altering Biotech Industry
The biotechnology segment is the fastest growing segment in India. It is valued about $11 billion currently and it will touch the $ 100 billion mark by 2025 as per the forecast of the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE). Furthermore, the Make in India website mentioned that the bio-tech industry size is expected to go up to USD 11.6 Billion by 2017 and it is expected to grow at 30% growth rate every year. The increased demand for healthcare services, R&D activities, clinical capabilities etc. will help this sector to witness fast growth in the future. It is believed that the ecology and the population both factors play a key role in the overall growth of biotech industry because they made India the most preferred country for clinical trials, research and development of biotech products and outsourcing of many other related contracts etc.
With the presence of some top biotechnology companies like Biocon, Panacea Biotec, Serum Institute of India, Wockhardt, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Novozymes, Indian Immunologicals , Shantha Biotechnics, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Bharat Serums and Vaccines Limited, India has got the chance to come as a leading player in the list of global biotech industry. All these companies are using India’s advantages like cost effectiveness, high population and skilled manpower to become recognized players worldwide. The industry is in great position and more money is being funneled by innovative ideas in biomedical, environmental, food and agriculture segments. Immuno-oncology, Stem cell therapies, 3D bioprinting, personalized medicine – theranostics, biomarkers and gene therapy are some of the upcoming segments. The cities like; Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad are hubs of Biotechnology companies. The agencies which have been supporting biotechnology’s R&D majorly include Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and many more.
Notable Amendments
India’s biotech industry is the 3rd largest company in Asia-Pacific region and has all set to enter in a new era. Many Indian biotechnology companies are in outsourcing of R&D services and have gained recognition worldwide with numerous export contacts. The areas like genetic research and drug development & designing are also gaining prominence speedily. All this is possible because investments are done by the government and non government bodies at every level. These efforts also helped to improve the biotechnology startup scenario to create tremendous opportunities in every segment. The government’s initiatives like DST, DBT, CSIR and BIRAC are also supporting entrepreneurial individuals to establish startups. Whereas, emerging Bio-Technology parks have well established infrastructure and equipments for startups help.
Key Segments
The Indian bio- tech industry can be divided in to five major segments – bio-services, bio-agriculture, bio-industrial, bio-pharma and bio informatics. Bio-services generally refer to clinical trials, manufacturing and research contracts. Under Bio-agriculture segment scientists work on biopesticides, biofertilisers and genetically modified seeds that help to modernize the traditional agriculture applications. Biopharma deals in biopharmaceuticals including drugs, proteins, antibodies which are useful for therapeutics and diagnostics. Bio-industrial segment includes the research work related to yeast-based products, enzymes and amino acids etc. the remaining segment Bio-informatics represents bioIT services.
Some Well Known Biotechnology Startups in India
A number of startups have started their research and development operations in different parts of India and are performing well. The list of biotechnology startups is never ending. However some of them are explained below:
- Ganit Labs - Bangalore based Ganit Labs was founded by Dr. Binay Panda and Dr Vijay Chandru in 2010 for prevention and cure of diseases through genomics application & informatics technology. The company is involved in the oral cancer genes’ mapping and their study. It uses analytical tools to ensure effective analyses.
- Achira labs - It is another populat biotech startup from the Bangalore city. It uses cutting-edge micro-fluidics technology to make fast and affordable medical tests and treatment accessible for patients around the world.
- FIB-SOL - Chennai based FIB-SOL was launched in the end of 2013. It aims to promote eco-friendly way of living. It develops technical solutions to solve agriculture and healthcare sector burning problems.
- Forus Health care - Another notable innovative startup based based out of Bangalore. It develops technologies for prevention of ophthalmic care. 3nethra Royal and 3nethra Classic are its flagship products that help in pre-screening for five ophthalmic ailments.
- Navya Biologicals - Founded by Vinay Konaje, Navya Biologicals has developed YeXtreme & ItensiMAb platforms to enable low cost production high quality biologics. It is headquartered in Hubli, Karnataka and deals in bioprocess and biologics. Notably -- while a 'drug' is manufactured through chemical synthesis, i.e by combining specific chemical ingredients in an ordered process, a 'biologic' is manufactured in a living system such as a microorganism, or plant or animal cells
- Yaathum Biotech - It is a molecular biotech startup based out of Chennai and specializing in development of real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) diagnostic kit for helping in the diagnosis of various diseases. The startup is incubated at IIT Madras Bioincubator.
Apart from these names, there are numerous other startups working in biotechnology area. As this segment requires huge money to start a company or research lab, most of the times people avoid taking risk. Some startups have their own research setups and some of them are using others. Some has started with developing a small microbiology lab and succeed to build it as a successful venture within 2-3 years.
In Conclusion
No doubt India has a huge potential to become a leading bio-tech hub, however, it needs to take more concrete steps especially toward setting up of R&D labs and other institutes. It needs to tackle the gap at funding and policy domains so that talented professionals of Indian origin can start their research centers easily in the country and become a part of the cutting-edge research at world level. Medical science institutions and other educational and training institutes also need to work closely with each other to give a boost to this sector.
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