Sitting in the Bangalore BIO (now called India BIO) conference, a lot of interesting information is diffusing through the room. Some of the terms/facts I learnt during the day I spent there :

The Indian biotech industry went from 300 million dollars to 7 billion dollars in size over 10 years.

Scotland is the land not just of whisky but also the bionic hand (also anesthesia and the first cloned sheep)

Biosimilars are a major thrust of the Indian pharma industry. This focuses on developing/replicating pharmaceutical molecules that have gone off patent.

Regenerative medicine: The use of stem cells or other techniques (such as cord blood) to treat degenerative conditions.

Precompetitive research is collaboration done between companies or organizations doing drug development.

At a panel discussion on Goals for global innovators in Biotech, these were identified to be maintain a high level of differentiation- aspire to be the best in the world

Achieve Capital efficiency strive for professional, nimble, entrepreneurial management these are no different than the goals for any industry that operates on the cutting edge, Telemedicine being similar.

Curiously enough, at a panel discussion the two speakers from India spoke very positively about the state of Biotechnology in India while the two from the US were lukewarm to frigid in their take on our Biotech industry, which seemed a little odd.

There were interesting comments made on agri biotech and using biotech for generation of fuels to combat global climate change, and this seems to have the potential to be the next big thing.

Overall, though the message was that the goal for Indian Biotech is to reach revenues of $ 100 billion by 2025. For those of us in related spaces, the message is clear: Get ready for some serious action!