Report: Biotechnology Expected to Experience High Growth

23 August 2012

Although biotechnology as a science is not new to India, the area developed into an established and promising industry only during the past two to three decades, according to a recent report from Global Industry Analysts.

Biotechnology in India is a highly technology-based industry, which presently accounts for a share of 2% in the global biotech industry, the report says. From playing a supplemental role until the recent years, biotechnology industry in India is expected to play an increasingly important role in the global biotechnology arena. Major growth areas within the industry include biopharmaceuticals, bio-agriculture, and bio-services, although other sectors are expected to post substantial growth in the coming years.

The Indian biotech industry managed to emerge out of the global recession largely unscathed, registering only a slowdown in revenue growth, the report says. In the upcoming years, the industry is estimated to witness another period of high growth, as drug developers worldwide are looking to India as a low-cost destination for outsourcing their discovery and production work, and as global developers continue to scout for more efficient and cost effective ways to develop novel therapies. For instance, the report says, multinational biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies from the US and Western Europe are using India and China to undertake phased studies on markets in the emerging countries. Due to the stringent policies and escalating R&D expenses, producers in the regulated markets are expected to undertake increased cost cuttings. To offer improved outsourced and collaborative R&D services, pharmaceutical production hubs, such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai, are expanding at a brisk pace.

Bio-pharmaceutical represents the largest sector in the Indian biotechnology industry, as stated by the new market research report. Growth in the market is primarily expected to emerge from the bio-agriculture sector, which is forecast to emerge as the fastest growing sector in terms of revenues during the analysis period. Exports continue to account for the largest share in the revenues of the Indian biotech industry, reflecting the continued focus of Indian biotech companies on the international markets. While segments, such as biopharma, bioinformatics and bio-services represented a substantial chunk of the export market, bio-industrial and bio-agri generated a major share of revenues serving the domestic market.

However, some of the biggest challenges that the Indian biotech industry currently faces is the need for superior organized resources in the form of large animal and transgenic animal facilities, molecular and chemical screening libraries, wide accessibility of technology platforms, trade related testing as well as accreditation facilities, and level-3 biosafety facilities to assist research on the infectious diseases. The industry also faces challenges in the form of manpower shortage, especially in finding skilled manpower at the high-end. This includes experienced high-end personnel in the area of oncology, medicinal chemistry, drug delivery, and in-vivo pharmacology. Besides, the industry is also in serious shortage of experts in the areas of intellectual property rights management, technology transfer, technology management, clinical services, and early drug discovery and innovation.

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