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This essay would enable one to have an understanding of the bio technology industry in India, importance of biotechnology and the future of the industry in India.
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is the offshoot of science in which living beings are used for making products. Flora and fauna and microorganisms like bacteria are used for this purpose. In the field of medicine and agriculture, bio technology has been used to produce food, test for diseases and to remove waste.
Biotechnology is divided into three sub field-red, white and green biotechnology.
Red biotechnology deals with genetically changed microorganisms being used for manufacturing products like insulin and vaccine for medical use. It is due to research in red biotechnology that antibiotics for various infections have been developed and vaccines to bolster the bodies’ resistance to various diseases were developed. It has also been used in reproductive technologies like invitro fertilization, DNA profiling, forensics and transplantation technologies.
White biotechnology deals with creating useful chemicals for the industrial sector through organisms like moulds or yeast. This type of bio technology is also referred to as grey biotechnology. White biotechnology has proven to be of immense benefit environmentally in cleaning oil spills and in storing DNA samples of endangered species for future research. It is also useful for removing excess nutrients in soil and water and for detection of landmines.
Green biotechnology also called agricultural biotechnology is to do with factors pertaining to agriculture. Green biotechnology is concerned with the genetic modification of plants and animals to produce environmentally friendly species.
Bio Technology Industry In India
This industry is one of the sunrise sectors in India.
The biotech industry can be classified into five different segments.
Biopharma, Agri-biotech, Bioinformatics, Bio industrial and Bio services with each concentrating on a particular area.
- Bio pharma deals with the production of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, while the end products of the biotech industry find two different kinds of buyers, the first type include private hospitals, governments; patients and the second type include industries like pharmaceutical.
- Agri-biotech deals with hybrid seeds and transgenic crops, biopesticides and biofertilizers.
- Bio informatics deals with creation and maintenance of extensive electronic databases on various biological systems.
- Bioservices market deals with clinical trial, contract research and manufacturing activities.
- Bio Industrial industry deals with enzyme manufacturing and marketing companies and these enzymes are used in detergent, textile, food, leather, paper and pharmaceutical industry.
At present there are more than 350 biotech companies in India providing employment for over 20,000 scientists. Most of the companies are located in the six major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmadabad.
The leading companies in India are Biocon, Serum Institute of India(in the biopharma space),MahycoMonsanto, Rasi seeds(in the agri-bio tech field),Strand Genomics, GVK Biosciences (in the bioinformatics arena),Syngene and Quintiles in the (in bio services).
Importance of Biotechnology:
- In today's era, when people are exposed to so many physical disorders, biotechnology plays a vital role in developing medicines, vaccines, energy production, and conservation. To keep pace with the competitive world, India has launched a comprehensive programme in biotechnology to make use of the resources available. In India the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) was established in the year 1986 under the ministry of Science and Technology.
- It is imperative that India has to keep up with the increasing demand for food from the ever expanding population. Agricultural land is also shrinking. Genetic engineering of plants to increase their yield is the way to go in future.
- Biotechnology can be used in a wide range of economic activity ranging from environment, animal husbandry, medicinal and aromatic plants, bio fuels, aquaculture and products like silk and leather.
Future of the Bio Technology Sector
- According to reports bio technology industry in India has become the fourth largest adopter of biotech crop in the world, replacing Canada. The Indian biotechnology industry is slated to become a US$ 5 billion industry by 2010.
- India is gaining recognition in the field of clinical trial. A large number of companies are providing research and development expertise to global pharmaceutical companies.
- The availability of a vast pool of English speaking science graduates, good regulatory processes and the cost advantage have positioned India as a favorable investment destination by the way of globalization, mergers and acquisition and alliances.
- Indian companies are also expanding overseas. The acquisition of 70 per cent stake of the German pharma company AxiCorp by Biocon is a case in testimony.
- In terms of technology, the nanotechnology is the next big opportunities.
- Stem Cell Therapy research also has huge potential.
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