The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, along with its Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) is organising Global Bio-India 2019 from 21-23 November, 2019 at Aerocity, New Delhi, in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Association of Biotech Led Enterprises (ABLE) and Invest India.
Recognised as one of the key drivers for contributing to India’s economy target of $5 trillion by 2024, the biotechnology sector is poised to grow exponentially over the next decade. Policy initiatives of the Government of India (GoI), such as ‘Make in India’ programme, are aimed at developing India as a world-class biotechnology innovation and bio-manufacturing hub. India is among the top-12 destinations for biotechnology in the world valued at $51 billion during 2018-19.
Speaking at the curtain-raiser of the event at the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) in New Delhi, Union Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan, said,“India for the first time is hosting a mega event for the biotech community to attract investments, showcase our indigenous strengths and more importantly, fuel the hopes and aspirations of the indigenous talent pool.”
Global Bio-India 2019 would deliberate on the opportunities and key challenges in the areas of bio-pharma, bio-agri, bio-industrial, bio-energy and bio-services sectors. Some of the components of Global Bio-India 2019 would be events such as bio-partnering, policy dialogues, CEO roundtable, global regulators meet, investors roundtable, exhibition/pavilion including countries, ministries, departments, states, startups and others.
Also present at the occasion, Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, DBT, stated, “Biotech is one of the identified champion sectors in the ‘Make in India 2.0.’ Our ambition for the event is to showcase the strength in the sector and let the world know that India is the destination to invest.”
A brochure of Global Bio-India 2019 was released at the event, along with the ‘Guidelines for Evaluation of Nanaopharmaceuticals in India.’
Speaking on the guidelines, Dr S Eswara Reddy, Joint Drugs Controller, said, “There is a huge potential to come up to develop the technology to reduce the toxicity and to improve the efficacy of the existing drugs that will lead to benefits in this area. In this connection, the DBT, in consultation with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), has come up with the guidelines for the evaluation of the nanopharmaceuticals. As on date, we don’t have a clearly defined regulatory pathway for the approval of nanopharmaceuticals. With these guidelines, I am sure the industry, innovators as well as regulators will help us for commercialisation of any information with respect to nanopharmaceuticals.”
Global Bio-India 2019 is expected to draw nearly more than 3,500 delegates from across the globe
connecting the Indian biotechnology ecosystem with the international ecosystem. Further, the event is expected to strengthen the indigenous research and development capabilities, bio-entrepreneurship, investments at centre and state level and integration of innovative affordable products and technologies for the last-mile-delivery across India, including tier II and tier III cities and rural areas.