Hyderabad: Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) is planning to mentor 2,000 startups from the life sciences and biotech sectors at its incubation centres over the next five years, a top official said.
“We aim to have 2,000 startups in the next five years. Currently we have about 500 startups in the country in the life sciences and biotech sector,” said Dr Renu Swaroop, the managing director of BIRAC at the BioAsia 2016 CEO Conclave here.
BIRAC, a government of India enterprise, has also set up a bio-incubation centre and the DBT Cluster which and connects SMEs to industry and investors.
Meanwhile, Zydus Cadila chairman Pankaj Patel feels that the Indian drug makers should focus on the Indian as well as emerging markets in biosimilar space.
“Individuals cannot afford the price at which these biological drugs are available in India. So the challenge is how do we make it more affordable and I feel India along with emerging markets offers a big opportunity for us in this area,” he said, adding that regulations in the space is tougher in developed nations.
