Gujarat poised to take leap in biotech sector

By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 09 January 2007, 18:30 IST
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AHMEDABAD: Despite having a lead in the pharmaceutical space in India, Gujarat has somehow lost out in the biotech field. Bangalore has taken a lead with players like Biocon and Avestagen setting up centers there. All that might possibly change now, since major pharma companies like Zydus Cadila, Alembic, Intas Pharma and Ambalal Sarabhai, as also stand-alone players like Bayer CropScience, Concord Biotech, Quintiles and Chiron are focusing on this segment and with that, the state could take a lead in biotech. According to a report prepared by Ernst & Young for the government of Gujarat, the Indian biotechnology industry forms a small part of the global biotech industry, but is growing at a rapid pace of 36 percent, with about 300 companies that generate revenues of over $1 billion. The global biotech market generated revenues of $63 billion in 2004-05, with the USA having an estimated 75 percent share, Europe 15 percent and Asia-Pacific another 5 percent. Gujarat and Karnataka are at loggerheads in their efforts to position their region as the leader in the field of biotechnology by developing a strong R&D base. The Economic Times reported this today. Interestingly, Indian vaccines constitute the largest segment of the Indian biopharma industry. IN keeping with that statistic, in Gujarat, the healthcare sector accounts for nearly 60 percent of the biotech industry?s share, with 20 percent coming from the agriculture sector and 6 percent each from industrial enzymes and environment-based products. Apart from the big pharma companies? biotech businesses and stand-alone companies mentioned above, a number of clinical research organizations have also been established. Over 12,000 people are employed in the Indian biopharma segment, while 200-plus biotech companies employed another 25,000 scientists in R&D and the 40 national research institutes have over 15,000 scientists according to E&Y. With Gujarat accounting for 40 percent of the total Indian pharmaceutical production and 17 percent of Indian pharmaceutical exports it can tap opportunities present in clinical research, contract manufacturing and vaccines, stated the report.