On April 5, I had the privilege of being invited by Kiran Shaw to attend the inauguration of the magnificent new Biocon research center at the sprawling Biocon campus. Speaking on the occasion were the Who’s who of the Indian scientific community, including the heads of the Indian Institute of Science, the National Center for BS and the former ISRO head. All were unanimous in their appreciation of the newly launched sparkling research labs (and tongue in cheek in comparing them with the dingy labs of academia).The chief guest, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Prof Kurt Wuthrich, enlightened the audience on the history of nuclear magnetic resonance, a topic close to my own heart, and on how the scientific community had to obtain
the support of the medical-radiologic fraternity to allow their research to deliver clinical results. A tour of the impressive facilities, tastefully enhanced with sculptures by Yusuf Arakkal, followed. Ms Shaw was, as always the epitome of hospitality and grace. I wish Biocon continued success in their remarkable efforts that have placed Bangalore on the world map of Biotech and high level R and D. Clearly when industry sees the value in and supports R and D the results are dramatic!