The Hindu Business Line : Serum Institute tops again in biotech exports

Bangalore June 14 The national biotechnology sector has posted 47 per cent jump in exports at Rs 4,937 crore for the year 2006-07. The industry comprises 325 firms, according to the fifth annual survey by biotech industry association ABLE and Biospectrum magazine.

"The industry has several reasons to celebrate its performance," the survey said.

For the second consecutive year, Pune-based vaccine major Serum Institute tops the league with Rs 951 crore; followed by Bangalore's Biocon Ltd at Rs 823 crore and Panacea Biotec at Rs 600 crore. The three contribute 27 per cent of the industry revenue of Rs 8,541 crore.

For the first time in five years, the top five are home grown companies and are based in as many States. Serum Institute has improved its lead over Biocon to Rs 128 crore compared to Rs 15 crore last year.

According to Mr Pradeep Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of CyberMedia, publishers of BioSpectrum, "The biotech industry is now truly global with two-thirds of the revenue coming from exports. The Rs 8,541-crore industry (FY 2005-06 Rs 6,521 crore) has emerged among the stars of the knowledge economy by inventing and launching several breakthrough products."

AGRI MARCHES AHEAD

The year was marked by the launch of a dozen products and scores of new transgenic cotton seeds.

The top five includes two bio-agri companies in an industry dominated by biopharma companies: Bt cotton seed company Rasi Seeds, Salem (Rs 333 crore), at number 4 and the Hyderabad-based Nuziveedu Seeds (Rs 226 crore) at number 5.

Among the next five with revenues topping Rs 100 crore are Venkateshwara Hatcheries, Indian Immunologicals, Shantha Biotechnics, Mahyco and Bharat Serums.

Nearly 40 per cent of the companies are in biopharma; 21 per cent in bioservices; 19 per cent in bioagri; 14 per cent in bioinformatics and five per cent in bioindustrial.

Biopharma accounted for sales of Rs 5,973 crore and 27 per cent growth. Bioservices registered 53 per cent growth; bioagri 55 per cent; bioinformatics 21 per cent and bioindustrial sector a growth of 5 per cent.

The forecast is that by 2010, the industry will have 400 companies, touch $ 5 billion (around Rs 22500 crore) in revenue and have 100 indigenous or imported products in the market.

YEAR OF M&AS

The year saw several global alliances and mergers and acquisitions: Merieux Alliance acquired a majority stake in Shantha Biotechnics. Panacea, the second largest vaccine producer, tied up with Indonesia's PT Bio Farma to manufacture and market the measles vaccine.

Reliance Life Sciences invested Rs 279 crore in GeneMedix, UK.

Serum bought 14 per cent stake in Lipoxen, UK. It also signed up with Akorn, US, for rabies monoclonal antibody.

Biocon's arm Syngene tied up with Bristol-Myers Squibb for discovery R&D services. Wockhardt signed up with Advanced Biotechnologies of USA to market Kelocote to treat scars.

Nicholas Piramal and Eli Lilly signed a drug development agreement. GSK tied up with TCS for is global clinical trial data management.

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