The Hindu Business Line : Biotech sector revenues cross Rs 10,000 cr

The 2015 revenue forecast is Rs 64,400 crore (or $13-16 billion). In 2006-07, the industry posted revenues totalling Rs 8,541 crore ($2.01 billion).

Our Bureau

Bangalore, July 16

The domestic biotech industry has grown further to post revenues of Rs 10,273 crore ($2.56 billion) in fiscal 2007-08.

However, the rupee’s appreciation against the US dollar and price pressures in global markets brought down the heady growth rate of the last five years to 20 per cent.

Based on current trends aided by the new biotech policy, the 2015 revenue forecast is Rs 64,400 crore ($13-16 billion). In 2006-07, the industry posted revenues totalling Rs 8,541 crore ($2.01 billion).

These are the findings of the sixth yearly BioSpectrum-ABLE Biotech Industry Survey, according to a release by the nodal Association of Biotech Led Enterprises.

According to Mr N. Suresh, Group Editor, BioSpectrum, “After five straight years of over 30 per cent growth, India’s fledgling biotech industry has slowed down.

The appreciation of the rupee for most of 2007-08 stole the high growth momentum from an industry that records two-thirds of its revenues from exports,” which was Rs 5,733.7 crore in 2007-08. Investments touched Rs 2,750 crore, or up 21 per cent.

During the surveyed year that ended on March 31, 2008, 56 per cent of the revenue came from exports, the release said.

ABLE’s President, Dr K.K. Narayanan, was quoted as saying, “The inability to sustain the growth momentum can be attributed to several factors; the primary one being that the revenues from Indian-made innovative biotech products that can be sold globally are yet to kick in”.

“The biopharma industry in India is coming of age now and the next five years will be a very interesting period for the Indian biotechnology industry. While bioservices will continue to attract significant interest, and biogenerics exports to the regulated markets are likely to produce a quantum leap in company earnings, there is a growing club of companies in India that are developing novel biotechnology-based pharmaceutical products.

“We expect biotechnology to begin to contribute significantly to other areas such as biofuels,” commented Mr Shrikumar Suryanarayan, Director-General, ABLE.

Bt COTTON

The bio-agri sector which took off in 2005-06 slowed down as Bt cotton seeds marketed by about two dozen companies faced pricing pressures in major markets. However, the transgenic cottonseed saw a significant increase in cropping area. The bio-agri revenues touched Rs 1,200 crore.

Serum Institute on top

For the third consecutive year, the Pune-based Serum Institute emerged as the top biotech company with revenues of Rs 987 crore.

Biocon (Rs 912 crore), Panacea Biotech (Rs 677 crore) and bio-agri company Nuziveedu Seeds (Rs 303 crore) follow.

The top three — Serum, Biocon and Panacea — are in the biopharma space and retain their 2007 positions. They account for 25 per cent of the total revenue.

The top 20 companies registered $1.25 billion in revenues and contributed to almost 50 per cent of the total biotech business.

Only three companies, all of them biopharma companies had revenues of Rs 500 crore in 2007-08.

Seven companies have revenues of Rs 200 crore and above; 85 per cent of top 20 companies have revenues in excess of Rs 100 crore.

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