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L.N. Revathy

Coimbatore , April 22

Exim Bank's assistance to start-ups in biotech ventures, it appears, is not without reason.

The bank is said to have identified the potential of this sector a decade ago . The latest study, conducted by the bank, on `Biotechnology: Emerging Opportunities for India' has endorsed the potential of the country to ride the wave.

The study released today at the Bio 2005 Conference in Bangalore has said that while India demonstrated its prowess in generics, clinical research and trials, bio-processing, bio-informatics and stem cell research, certain issues such as regulation of the biotechnology industry, provision of sufficient venture capital funding and improvement in the skills of trained manpower would have to be addressed.The bank's Chairman and Managing Director Mr T.C. Venkat Subramanian, said rich-biodiversity, highly productive and qualified workforce, presence of pharmaceutical and bio supplier sector and modern labs are adequate to support the growth of the sector. "This can be strengthened through cooperation among developing countries through transfer of technology, pooling of resources, sharing experience, spreading costs and taking risks of innovation," he said.

The global revenues of biotech ventures stood at $70 billion in 2000, with biopharmaceuticals share of the revenue at over 60 per cent, followed by diagnostics (14 per cent) and industrial enzymes (4 per cent). The data on `public biotech companies' revealed estimated revenue of $46.6 billion in 2003, registering a 17 per cent growth over 2002. Indian biotech industry with total revenue of $0.72 billion in 2003-04, is less than one per cent of global biotech revenues.

USA has topped in number with 1,500 biotech companies followed by 470 in Canada and 340 in Germany during 2003. India is in the eighth position with an estimated 160 active firms. In the Asian region, the country is ranked second, next only to Australia.

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