Bangalore aims to be biotech hub

BANGALORE: At least 20 countries, including the United States, France, Germany and Australia, and about 100 companies -- both double last year's tallies -- are expected to attend the "Bangalore Bio 2003" show between April 15 and 17, government officials said.

"We are mainly targeting labor-intensive biotech work such as contract research and bioinformatics from overseas companies," said IT Secretary of state, Vivek Kulkarni.

While low-end contract research and bioinformatics, given India's strong software skills, could be a good starting point, entrepreneurs expect new opportunities in light of path breaking recent developments such as the mapping of the human genome.

Bangalore has more than 100 biotech companies employing around 7,000 people. Many investors have been attracted by the state's large pool of skilled workers and welcoming business environment. Europe's second-biggest drugmaker, AstraZeneca Plc, Germany's Sartorius AG, both of which are among the show's sponsors, and U.S -based drug testing firm Quintiles Transnational Corp have units in Bangalore.