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Pandemic can spur biotech, pharma to replicate IT success
Despite being widely known as a healthcare hub, Chennai and Tamil Nadu lag behind when it comes to bio-tech. The reason for this is not the dearth of talent but not leveraging the strength in manufacturing and competencies, lament those from the healthcare industry.
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Chennai
When it comes to pharma and biotech, Bengaluru and Hyderabad have overshadowed Chennai, noted Raghav Rao, co-founder of the city-based Camomile Healthcare Ventures that caters to clients such as the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
“They are more tech-oriented and relatively newer economies compared to Chennai. Also, the adoption of new-age technologies is faster than here, as we have a base for traditional industries and manufacturing. In the sphere of IT, too, TN has seen a delayed growth trajectory. Today, places like Pune, besides Bengaluru and Hyderabad, are seen as new growth hotspots,” he told DT Next.
The ecosystem and the infrastructure to drive the growth of biotech have not been put in place, unlike automobile engineering. Giving an overall picture of the sunrise sector, Dr A Ramamoorthy, who spearheads Regenix BioScience, said uncertainties of outcome pertaining to drug discoveries and formulations, the long-drawn approval process, the huge funding gaps, absence of full-fledged research are all factors that have to be considered.
There are only about 16 biotech companies that cater to four areas – vaccines, blood products, monoclonal anti-bodies or MABS and insulin. But on the other hand, there are 24,000-plus tablet companies. For discovering a new molecule, it can take almost a decade and the regulations are stringent. “To set up a factory, it takes about Rs 60 crore and the clinical trials are usually three years, after which a similar quantum of funding is required to get into the production and selling cycle,” said Ramamoorthy.
However, the pandemic can change the fortunes if the thrust that was given to IT in the liberalised era can be replicated. “Talent is not an issue as far as TN is concerned. Some are willing to move here from other states even at lesser salaries,” he said.
Urging the government to create a special zone for biotech, with universities giving impetus to research in a focused way, so that scientific temperament, knowledge and an entrepreneurial mindset can be leveraged, he said financial and technological support are the critical factors that need to be addressed. His firm, which has seen an investment of about Rs 9 crore, has been sourcing technology from UAE and China as part of its ‘go to market’ strategy.
“If we could create brands such as TCS, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys and Zoho in the IT domain, there is no reason for us to not make our mark in biotech and pharma. The onus is on pharma firms to capitalise. Domestic entities have the potential to become global,” added Rao.
Fewer opportunities keep TN students away from pursuing biotechnology
Biotechnology helps in rendering effective treatments and prevention measures for different diseases by the invention of novel drugs and vaccines. But it is unfortunate to note that many students in Tamil Nadu have not evinced interest in taking up biotech course off late due to lack of job opportunities.
Biotechnology, which is still considered a good career choice for the students due to its dynamic and interdisciplinary nature, plays a major role in the field of medicines.
Though Tamil Nadu might have more than 60 institutes, including Anna University, and more than 20 research centres providing biotechnology courses, the sector still lacks industry-ready students.
“Th course gained popularity in Tamil Nadu a decade ago when the concept of cloning technique was used to create many copies of DNA fragments,” said S K Natrajan, a retired biotechnology professor of Madras University.
He said there is a misconception that a bachelor degree in biotechnology is enough to be a laboratory scientist. “Many students and parents develop unrealistic expectations due to lack of information and unawareness about the course,” he added.
“A Master’s degree with PhD is a must to have a future in the field. As IT sector provides good job opportunities immediately after bachelor’s degree, the craze for biotechnology gradually reduced,” he said.
The professor also pointed out that the craze for the biotech course waned further after All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) recently made Mathematics compulsory in Class 12 to pursue a biotechnology degree recently.
Sources from Anna University said that the intake of the students for biotechnology has been reduced by 40 per cent in the last five years.
While almost all the seats were filled in 2011 to 2014, the number of applicants started to decrease. Sources sais that only 60 per cent of the seats were filled in 2019-20.
“Even if a graduate wanted to pursue PG or PhD, many institutions have no proper research facilities,” Anna University former vice-chancellor E Balagurusamy said. He added that even bright and industry-ready students from top universities, which has good lab facilities, are facing the stagnant nature of the field.
“The government should not only allocate more funds for research, but it should also encourage students’ innovation,” the former vice-chancellor added.
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