The Hindu Business Line : `India will figure prominently in Biolink Forum 2007'

Bangalore June 7 India will figure prominently in the coming Biolink Forum 2007 to be held in Yokohoma in September signifying Japan's recognition of India's technological capability with a view to promoting strategic partnership in the sector. The prestigious event is a networking platform for the global biotechnology industry.

Ms Ryojo Kawai, Project Manager, Biolink Forum, told newspersons here on Thursday that last year, the Forum failed to get any participation. "We are trying to talk to an important person from India" she said declining to give the name.

Bilateral trade

Biolink Forum is being organised by the Japanese External Trade Organisation, a Japanese Government agency promoting bilateral trade and investment with other countries.

The event assumed added significance with Japan's biotech industry showing a stronger growth trends after a brief slowdown two years ago. With its bio-technology market estimated at $15 billion was slated to grow manifold in the next three years, Japan was looking at India as one of the strong strategic partner outsourcing, particularly in clinical research.

Ms Kawai, who represents the High Tech Industry Division of JETRO's Industry and Technology Department, said "Japan will be taking the leading role in biotechnology research and business not only in Asia Pacific region but also in global scale whereas India has been one of the merging key-players in the sector as well as ICT (Information and Communication Technology)".

Mr Kazumasa Kuboki, Director General of JETRO, here said Indian companies were making successful inroads into the Japanese generic drugs market with Ranbaxy and Zydus pharma companies already having made their presence felt through acquisitions.

He said a leading Japanese pharma company, Eizai has also set up a manufacturing unit in Visakhapatnam.