Biotech sector should have more quality people: Dr Bhan

BANGALORE: Warning the biotechnology sector against getting complacent, Dr MK Bhan, secretary, Department of Biotechnology, said the industry should find and have more quality people if it has to generate more funds for research purposes.

Speaking after receiving the 'Biotech Person of the Year 2005 Award' here on Monday at the BioSpectrum Awards Nite, Dr Bhan pointed at the need for consolidating and further evolving the positive steps the industry has taken in the past.

“There were some solid steps, we need to consolidate them and continuously evolve and expand them,” he said.

He added that the industry should also think in terms of size and scale of research activities to get more funds. “An addition of newness is required,” he said, referring to the current R&D activities in the industry.

The department of biotechnology has done what it could regarding the regulatory systems in the country, Dr Bhan said.

Referring to the future of the industry, he said it would soon require 5000-12,000 scientists. Dr Bhan also proposed to expand the presence of scientists in Life Science areas.

Earlier, at a panel discussion, “Industry's Wish List to the Finance Minister” organized as part of the Awards Nite, Dr Vijaya Raghavan, director, National Center for Biological Sciences (NCBS), called for the promotion of more interaction within the industry. He also demanded a better mechanism to disburse funds.

Vijaya Raghavan also said that the current trend of zero intellectual audit and high financial audit should change. He also urged for more public-private participation in the biotechnology sector.

Among other demands raised in the discussion included the need for the finance ministry to aid the sector rather than becoming a roadblock.

Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, CEO, ICICI Knowledge Park said, “we should look at interdisciplinary research in India.”

Most of the panelists pointed at the high import duties levied on raw materials for R&D purposes. Chattopadhyay, while demanding waivers on certain import, said, “the Finance Ministry should have a lenient attitude towards import of raw materials.”

Further, she demanded for a mechanism to strictly implement the Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers' Rights Act.

While referring to customs duty on raw materials, Sharma Bhatt, managing director, Bhat Biotech, said products carry less or no duty. This makes Indian products face stiff challenge from Chinese and Korean products, which are available for a lesser price. Indian manufacturers cannot match their prices owing to higher customs duty on raw materials.

“This hurts the nascent diagnostic industry,” he pointed out and demanded that raw materials should be made available duty free.

The discussion also touched upon the cumbersome process involved in obtaining no-objection certificates from the authorities for even R&D purposes. It called for a complete waiver on the need to get NoC to import small quantities of raw materials.

Vice chancellor of Pune University, Prof AS Kolaskar lamented the lack of quality human resources in the biotech sector. “Manu colleges have started related courses, but the quality is poor,” he said.

“There is a lot of talent pool, but no specialization,” Dr Jagadish Mittur, director, Monsanto Research Center, added.

The panelists also demanded that all biotech drugs should be put under 'lifesaving drugs' category. It also proposed to encourage international linkage with reputed universities.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon said special economic zones should be created based on acres. “It should be created on the basis of investment and employment generation.”

She also mooted that there should be a “crystallized idea of how the money (allocated to the sector) will be spent.”