BioSpectrum India March 2020

Bio Engineering

Expertise in Pharmaceutical Industry

Tofflon India Pvt Ltd

Regd. Off: 44, 100 feet road, 4th Phase, www.tofflon.com
JP Nagar, Bangalore - 560078
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4 BIO CONTENT BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

26 COVERSTORY

ACHIEVING MILESTONES COVER
OF SUCCESS DESIGN BY:
DOMINIX STRATEGIC
As nations around the world celebrate International Women’s Day DESIGN PVT. LTD.
on March 8, with the theme #EachforEqual, the number of companies
that have had women in a leadership role continues to expand. But
the list is still relatively short, and even when women have made it to
power, they have rarely led for a long time.

Indeed, women are getting stronger and more engaged in careers,
with age no bar. Some are taking greater risks, often to make a greater
impact. Some have just stepped into the waters, while some have
made it big through their hard work and determination.

Celebrating the power of womanhood, BioSpectrum has profiled
leaders, entrepreneurs, and family business heiress in the life sciences
industry, who are yet to achieve a milestone of 50 years of age, but are
already adding to the company in ways that enrich it.

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com BIO CONTENT 5

SPEAKING WITH TOPVIDEO

22 Dr Kiran
Mazumdar-Shaw,
“Research on Chairperson &
NCDs is lagging behind” Managing Director
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, of Biocon shares
details on the
Chief Scientist, recent MoU signed
World Health Organisation, Geneva between India
and Queensland,
OPINION Australia.

16

Union Budget 2020-21: A
Step Closer, But Miles to Go

UNION BUDGET 2020-21 Scan the QR Code »

18 Anke Hollnagel,
Director Asia,
Is ‘Caring India’ budget cold? BaselArea.swiss
talks about the
BIOINCUBATORS SURVEY opportunities in
store for Indian
34 digital health
startups at Basel,
BioSpectrum Bioincubators Switzerland.
Survey and Methodology
Scan the QR Code »
WORLD KIDNEY DAY
Chris Sullivan,
38 Global Healthcare
Practice
Pursuit to replace dialysis Lead, Zebra
Technologies,
SPEAKING WITH US points out the
ongoing impact of
40 digital technology
in healthcare.
“Work is underway in engaging
Indian startups at Basel” Scan the QR Code »
Krishna Bhatia,

Chief Representative
India, BaselArea.swiss

REGULARS

BioEdit ....................................................................................................... 06
BioMail ...................................................................................................... 08
Policy and Regulatory News.................................................................... 10
Company News......................................................................................... 12
Finance News............................................................................................ 14
Start-up News........................................................................................... 15
R&D News.................................................................................................. 44
Academic News........................................................................................ 45
People News............................................................................................. 46
Supplier News........................................................................................... 47
Digital Insight ........................................................................................... 49

6 BIO EDIT BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

Alert!

The recent devastating outbreak of V M Katoch, then Secretary, Department of Health
Coronavirus in China is obviously sounding Research. It had suggested to set up six bulk drug
as a serious alert to the common people to parks to boost the production of bulk drugs in order
remain safe from its spread, but it is also an equally to reduce the dependency on China.
serious alert to Indian pharma industry. It is due to
its dependence on China for supply of bulk drugs, Industry experts suggest that that the
active pharma ingredients (API), intermediates etc. government should promote bulk drugs and API
for pharma production. production in India by offering tax concessions
and making available capital at low cost as these
Indian pharma industry’s $ 2.4 billion worth two are major obstacles. The government needs
import of bulk drugs and raw materials from to offer some concessions to establish an industry
China constitutes 68 per cent of the total imports for removing dependence on other country. The
of pharma raw materials, the Parliament was industry too will have to come forward with a firm
informed in 2018-19. As high as 90 per cent of the thought of reducing the dependency and subsequent
raw material needs of Indian antibiotic makers is planned action.
fulfilled by Chinese companies. About 40 Chinese
companies supplying drug raw material to Indian Capacity and technical capability of Indian
pharma manufacturers are located in Hubei, the pharma companies is surely not an issue. Over 1500
capital of Wuhan, the region severely affected by APIs manufacturing plants in India are running
the Coronavirus outbreak. The other two main at only 40 per cent of their capacity due to less
centers having raw material production facilities, demand.
Zhejiang and Jiangsu, are also in Wuhan. As a
result, the supplies have already been disrupted. If The current situation in China may open up
the outbreak prolongs it may considerably reduce one more opportunity to India. China exports raw
or stop the supplies, severely affecting the pharma materials as well as drugs to various countries. For
production here. example, 97 per cent of all antibiotics in USA are
imported from China. If the current Corona virus
Pharma companies here normally maintain crisis continues, even other countries may turn to
inventory for a longer period, particularly during other sources to import APIs, intermediates and
these days due to the Chinese New Year vacations even generic drugs. With some really quick steps
there. Thus, at least the giants may not feel the pinch to increase its capacity, Indian pharma sector can
immediately. But if the outbreak is not controlled be the alternative to China for other countries to
soon, even they may face the problem and will source their API and other imports.
have to look at other sources. In that case, the
manufacturers may even have to pay higher prices. The current possible effect on bulk drug and
intermediates imports, is not the first one. Some
But the industry can look at it as an opportunity time back thousands of Chinese companies shut
for achieving self-sufficiency by developing facilities down for long time to step up their environmental
for APIs and other raw materials production. facilities. India had to turn to US, Italy, Singapore
and Hong Kong to keep up the supplies. That was
Reducing dependency on China had been in probably the first signal to Indian companies to
offing for quite some time. But it is important here to reduce its dependence on China for supply of raw
first understand the reasons for over dependency on materials. Second time, the signal has now turned
China, such as pricing. Imports from China are cost into an alert.
effective for Indian pharma companies. The industry
is of the opinion that the price difference is about Milind Kokje
20 to 30 per cent. The government even appointed Chief Editor
a committee in 2015 under the chairmanship of Dr
[email protected]



8 BIO MAIL BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

Vol 18; Issue 2; February 2020

Acknowledgements

I joined Corning in 2009, Rony Banerjee was my supervisor and the mentor. In the
first week, he gave me two books, “BioSpectrum with Top 20 Suppliers in India” and
“Highway on the Platter”. I was not sure about the relevance of these books. I asked and
his response was - “To make business 10X, we need to find ways to work with the top
20 suppliers. It will require lot of traveling; so the second book will guide us to the best
street food joints across India.” During the next 5 years, we traveled 2-3 weeks/month,
worked with most of those suppliers and had food at almost every joint mentioned in
the book. The business was 10X at the end. Two books, a great mentor and passion to
drive business, what else you need.

- Vibhu Jain, Seoul

The article ‘Denting cancer burden with partnership’ in the February edition has
shaped up very well.

- P.N Balaram, Kochi

Vol 18; Issue 3; March 2020 MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications

Publisher & Managing Editor: South Region New Delhi INTERNATIONAL
Ravindra Boratkar Alok Srivastava Kalyani Sharma
National Business Head- Media Coordinator Singapore
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New Delhi: Kalyani Sharma Manager- Product & Manager- Product & USA
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expressed in this magazine this publication. The Printer, support these views.
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10 POLICY AND REGULATORY NEWS BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

TGI collaborates with MP Govt Health
Ministry
The George Institute for Global will be used in further studies. conducts
Health (TGI) and the Atal Bihari 10th round of
Institute of Good Governance and These areas include research in deworming
Policy Analysis, (IGG) a think-
tank of the Government of Madhya non-communicable diseases, The Ministry of Health
Pradesh (MP) will work together and Family Welfare
in a number of key health areas capacity building of Auxiliary (MoHFW) conducted the
to make health services better tenth round of National
in the state. A Memorandum of Nurse Midwives (ANM) and other Deworming Day (NDD) on
Understanding (MoU) between 10th February. This was
the institute and TGI was grassroots workers, lowering followed by the mop-up
recently signed and has identified day on February 17, 2020.
various key areas on which this deaths due to snakebite and road As part of this campaign,
collaboration will work. TGI has children and adolescents
rich experience in rapid evidence traffic injuries through research- aged 1-19 years were
research and their experience administered Albendazole
based interventions, knowledge (400 mg) across
government, government-
management in the health sector, aided schools, anganwadis,
private schools and other
etc. The aim of the collaboration is educational institutions.
The NDD is implemented
to inform health systems and policy with an objective to reduce
the prevalence of Soil
decision making through joint Transmitted Helminths
(STH), commonly called
publications, forums, seminars, the parasitic intestinal
worms, among all
and other dissemination activities children and adolescents.
Infections with the main
at both state and national levels. STH – roundworm,
whipworm and hookworms
India’s second largest govt. – contribute to 50.1 lakh
hospital opens in Sikkim disability adjusted life-
years (DALYs) worldwide.

Ramesh Pokhriyal, Union Modi in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh.
Minister of Human Resource This is a joint collaborative
Development & Dr Harsh programme of the Ministry
Vardhan, Union Minister of of Health and Family Welfare
Health & Family Welfare jointly and the Ministry of Human
released curriculum for School Resource & Development,
Health Ambassador (SHA) Department of School Education
Initiative under Ayushman & Literacy. The initiative
Bharat in New Delhi recently. targets both education and
Pokhriyal informed that the health implementers and
School Health Programme is envisaged to facilitate an
(SHP) under Ayushman Bharat integrated approach to health
was launched on April 14, 2018 programming and more effective
by the Prime Minister, Narendra learning at the school level.



12 COMPANY NEWS BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

Codagenix, Fujifilm India expands
Serum Institute footprint in Bengaluru
to develop
coronavirus Fujifilm India Private Limited, training rooms. It will also offer
vaccine a global pioneer in imaging endoscopy and DSC camera
technologies, has announced service centers to serve its ever-
US based Codagenix, Inc., a the opening of its new office in increasing customer base in the
clinical-stage biotechnology Bengaluru, India. This new set- region. With the new workplace,
company developing prophylactic up will help the company further Fujifilm plans to increase the
vaccines and oncolytic virus expand its presence in southern workforce by 30 per cent in
therapies has announced a India, better serve its existing the city across functions like
collaboration with Pune based customers, and also provide Electronic Imaging Division,
Serum Institute of India to an exciting and fun working Instax, Industrial Products
rapidly co-develop a live- environment to its workforce. and Medical Systems. The
attenuated vaccine against the The new office comes equipped Bengaluru team will work
emergent coronavirus. Codagenix with best-in-class amenities closely with the Gurugram
has already designed multiple and service capabilities. Multi- head office and other offices in
novel coronavirus (nCoV) vaccine coloured workstations along India and around the world to
candidate genomes using its with Wi-Fi meeting rooms with drive value from collaborative
proprietary deoptimization HDCOM facility, collapsible innovation.
technology. The vaccine viruses
will then be grown and tested in Zydus receives approval
vivo by contracted laboratories from DCGI for diabetes drug
suitable for containment, prior
to testing in clinical trials. The
Serum Institute of India will then
scale-up the manufacture of the
vaccine to ensure its availability to
meet a critical public health need.
Codagenix and Serum Institute
are pursuing an accelerated
development pathway with built-
in redundancies to increase speed
and likelihood of success.

Zydus Cadila, an innovation- trial was a Multi-centric,
driven, global pharmaceutical
company, announced that it has Prospective, Randomized,
received the approval from the
Drug Controller General of India Double- blind Study to Evaluate
(DCGI) for use of Saroglitazar
Mg in the treatment of Type II the Safety and Efficacy of
Diabetes Mellitus as an add on
therapy with Metformin. The Saroglitazar Mg 2 mg and 4 mg
drug was previously approved in
the year 2013 for the treatment as compared to Pioglitazone
of Hypertriglyceridemia and
Diabetic Dyslipidemia in India. 30 mg in patients with type 2
More than 1 million patients
are being treated with Lipaglyn. diabetes.
The Diabetes Phase 3 clinical

BIOSPECTRUM AWARDS
EXCELLENCE 2020

March 27th, 2020, The Lalit Ashok, Bangalore

The Most Sought-After & Much Talked About
Annual Awards Night To Felicitate The Stalwarts
Of Indian Biotechnology & Health Science Industry.

BIOSPECTRUM AWARD CATEGORIES

BioSpectrum Jury Awards BioSpectrum Industry Awards

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14 FINANCE NEWS BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

Dr. Reddy’s inks deal with Wockhardt worth Rs 1850 Cr

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories of a portfolio of 62 brands in as Respiratory, Neurology,
Ltd. has announced that it multiple therapy areas such VMS, Dermatology,
has entered into a definitive Gastroenterology, Pain
agreement with Wockhardt and Vaccines, which would
Limited to acquire select transfer to Dr. Reddy’s
divisions of its branded along with related sales and
generics business in India marketing teams; and the
and a few other international manufacturing plant located
territories of Nepal, Sri in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh
Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives with all plant employees. The
for a consideration of Rs 1850 business undertaking is being
crore. The business comprises transferred on a slump sale basis.

Glenmark sells Piramal Pharma Solutions
to expand Canada facility
gynaecology biz
Piramal Enterprises Solutions’ (PPS) Aurora
for Rs 115 Cr facility will enhance its
Limited’s Pharma Solutions offerings to customers
Mumbai based pharmaceutical with this new addition that
company Glenmark Pharmaceuticals business, a leading features 10,500 sq. ft. of
has sold its gynaecology business in new manufacturing space.
India and Nepal to private equity firm Contract Development and The additional capacity will
True North, formerly known as India cater to increasing customer
Value Fund Advisors or IVFA, for Manufacturing Organization demand as well as support
Rs 115 crore. The business has been the facility’s ability to
sold to the new entity incorporated provide APIs and HPAPIs
by True North called Intergrace. down to an Occupational
Back in August 2018, Glenmark had Exposure Limit (OEL)
transferred its orthopaedic and pain of 1mcg/m3. It will also
management business in India and include filtration and
Nepal to True North’s new entity drying capabilities that will
Intergrace. Integrace aims to be enhance service offerings at
among the top players in the Indian Piramal Pharma Solutions’
pharmaceutical sector by 2030. Aurora facility.
The company’s focus will remain
on driving organic growth, but
acquisitions will continue to be an
important route.

(CDMO), has announced

plans to expand its Aurora

facility in Canada with the

addition of a new state-

of-the-art wing dedicated

to manufacturing Active

Pharmaceutical Ingredients

(APIs). A total investment

of approximately CAD$25

million will be infused

towards this expansion.

Known for its world-class

lab services and production

plants, the Piramal Pharma

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com START UP NEWS 15

Omnicuris becomes part mfine launches
of Atal Incubation Centre
remote clinics
Bengaluru based startup Omnicuris which offers medical
skill upgradation to doctors through online modules and in rural areas
courses, has now bagged the opportunity to have the remote
cum physical incubation at the prestigious Atal Incubation mfine, a health-tech AI startup, has
Centre-- Rambhau Mhalgi announced the launch of remote clinics
Prabodhini (RMP) in Thane to bring the hospital’s satellite or nodal
supported by NITI Aayog in order centres, corporate clinic outposts
to create a positive difference and diagnostic health centres on the
in the lives of economically and mfine platform and enables virtual
socially backward sections of consultations with speciality doctors via
Indian society by channelizing audio and video chat. mfine rolled out the
the power of Innovation and first set of remote clinics in partnership
entrepreneurship. Through this with RxDx Bengaluru and Fortis Mumbai.
association, Omnicuris will be The company plans to scale this model
able to strengthen its scientific across India by partnering with similar
expertise and facilities, widen specialty hospitals having primary health
connections with investors, centres and aims to add 100 more clinics
conduct impact assessment and studies, scout for funding on its network in the next six months.
for its programmes. The incubation process will also help Apart from the remote clinics, mfine will
the startup establish wider connections with academia, other also support the doctors working at RxDx
similar social enterpises, industry bodies, as well as relevant Aarogyasri centres, nodal and corporate
government and non-government bodies. clinics across all branches. mfine is
also onboarding Fortis Mumbai with 4
primary healthcare centres.

Form IV (See Rule 8)

Statement of ownership and other particulars about the newspaper BioSpectrum to be published in the first issue every year after
last day of February.

1. Place of Publication : Pune

2. Periodicity of Publication : Monthly

3. Printer’s Name : Mr. Ravindra Vidyadhar Boratkar

Whether Citizen of India : Yes

Address : “Ashirwad”, 1st Floor, 36/A/2, S. No. 270, Pallod Farms, Baner Road, Pune – 411 045.

4. Publisher’s Name : Mr. Ravindra Vidyadhar Boratkar

Whether Citizen of India : Yes

Address : “Ashirwad”, 1st Floor, 36/N2, S. No. 270, Pallod Farms, Baner Road, Pune – 411 045.

5. Editor’s Name : Mr. Milind Kokje

Whether Citizen of India : Yes

Address : 133, Kaliandas Udyog Bhavan, Babasaheb Woralikar Marg,
Prabhadevi, Mumbai – 400 025.


6. Name & addresses of individuals who own the newspaper, and partners or shareholders holding more than one percent
of the total paid-up capital.

Name : Mr. Jagdish Balkrishna Patankar
Address : B-55, Mahavir Park Society, Pune - Satara Road, Pune – 411037.

Name : Mr. Ravindra Vidyadhar Boratkar
Address : 402, Siddhivinayak Apartment, Khare Town, Dharam Peth, Nagpur – 440010.

Name : Mr. Vijay Padmakar Thombre
Address : 1, Sagar Apartment, 6 Mahaganesh Society Paud Road, Kothrud, Pune – 411038.

I, Ravindra Vidyadhar Boratkar , hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Sd/-
Publisher

16 OPINION BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

Union Budget 2020-21:

A STEP CLOSER,

BUT MILES TO GO

The highlight of the Union Budget, for healthcare, is the new and welcome step of the introduction of the
policy to develop hospitals in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. In keeping
with the renewed focus on healthcare for last two years, this year too, the outlay for healthcare has been
increased, and is now pegged at Rs 69,000 crore. The expenditure side figures given in the budget reveal the
gaps that need to be addressed.

The union budget this year presented by accounted for 66 per cent of in-patient and 75 per
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has cent of outpatient facilities. Since there is arguably
not disappointed in respect of the Universal sufficient private infrastructure at least in urban
Healthcare (UHC) goals for India. In keeping with and semi-urban areas, the quickest way of jump in
the renewed focus on healthcare for last two years, public accessibility would be having a “buy-in” of
this year too, the outlay for healthcare has been a portion or whole of the facilities under the PPP
increased, and is now pegged at Rs 69,000 crore. models being considered. For fast augmentation,
This increase of 10 per cent over last year comes the key lies in structuring partnerships with not
coupled with a host of new initiatives e.g. medical just the big or corporate players in the private
colleges attached to district hospitals, and skilling sector, but the overwhelmingly larger ‘retail’ private
initiatives starting alongside Ayushman Bharat and infrastructure.
Jan Aushadhi Yojana. However, the highlight of this
budget, for healthcare, is the new and welcome step For achieving maximum results, the fastest way
of the introduction of the policy to develop hospitals would therefore be through the ‘retail partnerships’
in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in tier- model directly with healthcare practitioners. These
2 and tier-3 cities. could be in the form of land lease grants or tax covers
for equipment and constructions, coupled with
The expenditure side figures given in the budget
reveal the gaps that need to be addressed. Of the CLUBBED WITH EFFECTIVE PRICE CONTROL
last year’s budgeted expenditure of about Rs 62,000 AND PAYER SIDE INITIATIVES LIKE CO-
crore, only about Rs 1800 crore were budgeted for PAY OF MEDICAL INSURANCE AS WELL AS
capital outlay in public health areas, whereas the INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE INITIATIVES LIKE PPPS
corresponding figure this year is even lower at Rs WITH THE RETAIL HEALTHCARE DELIVERY
1065 crore. SECTOR, THE WAY TO GO FOR INDIA WOULD BE
THE ONE THAT DOCTORS ADVISE FOR EFFECTIVE
PPP with Holders of Private Infrastructure TREATMENT OF PATIENTS: HIT EARLY, HIT HARD
AND GIVE MAXIMUM COVER AT ONE GO!
The most notable feature of the healthcare systems
of the high-income countries with significant
success in UHC is the reverse proportion of public
hospitals and clinics, to private, as compared to
India. In India, in addition to corporate hospitals
and charitable organisations hospitals, there exist
a very large number of hospitals and clinics created
primarily by the service providers themselves.
They place a crucial role in the private healthcare
which according to a 2015 study published by ISID,

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com OPINION 17

package reimbursements like that under Ayushman THE BUDGET DELIVERS A BIT OF A CONUNDRUM.
Bharat monitored by private insurance companies ON ONE HAND, WHILE THE FINANCE MINISTER
with government covering only co-pay element for IS INCREASING THE FOCUS AND OUTLAY
the target population. ON HEALTHCARE SECTOR, THE RETAIL TAX
REFORMS HAVE EFFECTIVELY HARMED THE
Nation-wide Digital Health Data CAUSE OF PRIVATE MEDICAL INSURANCE!

Integration of digital health pathways based on the lowest levels of penetration for medical insurance,
transparent Aadhaar-card based patient statistics, about 20 per cent by IBEF estimates, it would be
and incentivising private hospitals and doctors/ interesting and worthwhile to consider PPPs with
service providers, can be the two pillars of the private insurers where PAN-based government co-
nation-wide healthcare system. Digital health pay model would deliver a quick and wide-reaching
industry is showing great promise and tremendous impact.
growth rates upwards of 25 per cent per annum in
India and worldwide. If the government integrates There have already been some efforts in this
opportunities for the players in this industry with field at state level, for example The Yeshasvini Co-
its overall objectives, India will have an enviable operative Farmer’s Healthcare Scheme in Karnataka
medical record and feedback system, and targeted where an element of co-pay from the government of
interventions at minimum costs and efforts for its Karnataka is included as part of medical insurance
residents. of the target population. However, this field has
mostly been left unexplored for truly large schemes
DIGITAL HEALTH INDUSTRY IS SHOWING GREAT covering most of the nation in co-pay model with
PROMISE AND TREMENDOUS GROWTH RATES private partners. The real benefit will fructify only
UPWARDS OF 25 PER CENT PER ANNUM IN upon applying economies of scale via a nation-
INDIA AND WORLDWIDE. IF THE GOVERNMENT wide, digital health aided, Aadhar card based
INTEGRATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE medical insurance enrolment scheme, possibly with
PLAYERS IN THIS INDUSTRY WITH ITS OVERALL compulsory participation / merging of all private
OBJECTIVES, INDIA WILL HAVE AN ENVIABLE medical insurance beneficiaries. The co-pay offered
MEDICAL RECORD AND FEEDBACK SYSTEM, AND by the government would of course be only for
TARGETED INTERVENTIONS AT MINIMUM COSTS the weaker sections coupled with strict embargos
AND EFFORTS FOR ITS RESIDENTS. on co-pay beneficiaries from availing facilities for
comfort purposes like private rooms, and elective
UHC is essentially a payer problem interventions like plastic surgery and dentistry.

The key to maximising the healthcare delivery ‘Hit Early, Hit Hard, Cover Maximum’ Principle
achieving universal healthcare, is addressing the
key differentiator between public/ government run A simple equation for healthcare industry is
healthcare delivery and the large private sector - the “Healthcare delivery = Infrastructure + Service
payment for receiving that healthcare delivery. From providers + Medicines”. For a country like India
this perspective, the objective of UHC then can be with globally acknowledged high quality doctors,
perceived as essentially a payer-side problem. The technicians and nurses, solving the problem of
most common ways of dealing with the payer side are shortage of service providers is the proverbial low-
price control and insurance mechanisms. hanging fruit that would be easily achieved through
the measures mentioned in the budget like having
Here the budget delivers a bit of a conundrum. On a medical college attached to every district hospital.
one hand, while the Finance Minister is increasing Clubbed with effective price control and payer side
the focus and outlay on healthcare sector, the retail initiatives like co-pay of medical insurance as well as
tax reforms have effectively harmed the cause of infrastructure side initiatives like PPPs with the retail
private medical insurance! In a country with one of healthcare delivery sector, the way to go for India
would be the one that doctors advise for effective
treatment of patients: hit early, hit hard and give
maximum cover at one go!

Manasee Kurlekar
[email protected]

18 UNION BUDGET 2020-21 BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

IS The first Union Budget of the third decade of
‘CARING 21st century was presented by the Finance
Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on 1st
INDIA’ February 2020. In order to achieve the holistic
BUDGET vision of healthcare that translates wellness of the
citizen, about Rs 69,000 crore have been provided
COLD? for healthcare in Union Budget 2020-21. It includes
Rs 6400 crores for Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojana
In order to achieve the holistic vision of healthcare (PMJAY).
that translates wellness of the citizens, about Rs
69,000 crore have been provided for healthcare “Presently, under PMJAY there are more than
in the Union Budget 2020-21. It includes Rs 6400 20,000 empanelled hospitals. We need more in
crores for Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojana Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities for poorer people under
(PMJAY). The budget also includes other key this scheme. It is proposed to set up viability gap
announcements focusing on TB elimination, funding (VGF) window for setting up hospitals in the
startups, quantum technology, medical education public-private partnership (PPP) mode. In the first
and leveraging data. phase, those aspirational districts will be covered,
where presently there are no Ayushman empanelled
hospitals. This would also provide large scale
employment opportunities to youth. Proceeds from
taxes on medical devices would be used to support
this vital health infrastructure. Health authorities
and the medical fraternity can target disease with
an appropriately designed preventive regime using
machine learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence
(AI), in the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Also, TB
Harega Desh Jeetega campaign has been launched.
I propose to strengthen these efforts towards our
commitment to end Tuberculosis (TB) by 2025”,
states Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister.

She also announced to expand ‘Jan Aushadhi
Kendra’ scheme to all districts offering 2000
medicines and 300 surgicals by 2024. The budget
also includes other key announcements focusing on
startups, quantum technology, medical education
and leveraging data.

Terming the Union Budget
2020 as a one based on vision

and action oriented, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi

says, “The Ayushman
Bharat programme has
expanded the health sector
in the country. This has

expanded the scope for
more human resources,
whether of doctors,
nurses or attendants, along with the
need for manufacturing of medical
devices in the country. And the
government has taken several decisions

in this direction. We have taken several policy
initiatives with regard to smart cities, electronic
manufacturing, data centre parks, biotechnology and
quantum technology. With this India would become
an integral part of the global value chain.”

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com UNION BUDGET 2020-21 19

Hailing the budget as a landmark, Union Key highlights of Union Budget 2020-21
Minister for Health & Family Welfare Dr
Harsh Vardhan says, “The budget estimates for ● Providing Rs 69000 crore for healthcare
the Department for Health and Family Welfare show ● Including Rs 6400 crore for Prime Minister
an appreciable increase of 3.75 per cent, while there
has been a 10 per cent hike in the allocation for the Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY)
Department for Health Research. This indicates ● Providing Rs 3000 crore for skill development
the strong focus of the government on the health ● Launching TB Harega Desh Jeetega campaign
sector. The focus in Budget 2020 is on medical ● Expanding Jan Aushadhi Kendra Scheme
infrastructure, human resources in the health ● Supporting development of early stage startups
sector, and holistic health & wellness. Also, ‘TB ● Establishing technology clusters
HaregaDeshJeetega’ campaign has received a boost ● Facilitating seamless application and capture
in the Budget. This shall strengthen our resolve and
commitment to end tuberculosis by 2025.” of IPRs
● Building data centre parks
The industry is lauding the constructive steps ● Outlaying Rs 8000 crore for Quantum
being taken by the government for enhancing the
healthcare ecosystem in India. “The allocation of Rs Technologies
69,000 Crore for healthcare and opening of hospitals ● Providing viability gap funding
in tier 2 and tier 3 cities are certainly positive steps in ● Designing special bridge courses
ensuring better healthcare”, mentions Dr Prasanna ● Building National Forensic Science University
Deshpande, Deputy Managing Director, ● Reforming medical devices import
Indian Immunologicals Limited.
Leveraging Data
On a similar note, Alagu Subramaniam,
MD, West India says, “Last mile connectivity for Government will soon bring out a policy to
healthcare services through AB-PMJAY scheme is a enable private sector in building Data Centre
step in the right direction and will ensure that tier Parks throughout the country, thus enabling firms
II and III cities now have access to proper hospitals. to incorporate data in every step of their value
To achieve economic success, it is imperative that chains. The government has also put emphasis on
population is healthy. Access to health for all sections targeting diseases with an appropriately designed
of the society as a key part of Aspirational India, one preventive regime using technologies such as ML
of the three prominent themes around which the and AI.
budget was woven, will go a long way in achieving
that. The proposed expansion of ‘Jan Aushadhi “The announcement to boost
Kendra’ schemes to all districts will allow citizens Artificial Intelligence is a great
access to drugs at affordable prices and help in step to strengthen the usage of
propagating wellness across the country.” technology in the field of
healthcare while intensifying
Dr H Sudarshan Ballal, President, the quality with accessibility
NATHEALTH further adds, “Union Budget 2020- and affordability.”
21 has accorded priority on capacity building by
improving health infrastructure in Tier II & III cities -Haruto Iwata,
and rural areas. It is promising to note that the Managing Director, Fujifilm India
government paid serious attention to NATHEALTH’s
recommendations on capacity building in these areas. “Setting up of strong digital
Setting up hospitals on PPP mode with the provision infrastructure in the country
of VGF in 112 aspirational districts in the country go could directly enable several
a long way in creating a robust health infrastructure technological innovations in
especially in that areas where Ayushman Bharat healthcare like data analytics, AI
benefits have not reached yet especially to the weaker and ML for better prevention
section. We hope to see more investments into and treatment of diseased.”
primary care and digital health to achieve the goal of -Joy Chakroborty,
Health for All.” COO, P.D Hinduja Hospital and
Medical Research Centre
Sounding equally convinced about the budget
announcements, Dr GSK Velu, Chairman & MD,
Trivitron Healthcare says, “The government is
focused on creating the healthcare infrastructure and

20 UNION BUDGET 2020-21 BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

Startups Education

Government plans to promote a digital In order to meet the requirement of qualified
platform that would facilitate seamless medical doctors, it is proposed to attach a
application and capture of Intellectual Property medical college to an existing district hospital in
Rights. A centre is proposed to be established PPP mode. Viability gap funding will be made
in an Institute of Eminence for working on available to the states that fully allow the facilities
innovation in the field of intellectual property. of the hospital to the medical college and provide
Knowledge Translation Clusters are to be set up land at a concession. The Government will also
across different technology sectors including encourage large hospitals with sufficient capacity
new and emerging areas. Technology clusters, to offer resident doctors, Fellowship/ Diplomat of
with test beds and small scale manufacturing the National Board of India (FNB/DNB) courses
facilities for designing, fabrication and under the National Board of Examinations.
validation of proof of concept are also to be Special bridge courses may be designed jointly by
established. the Ministries of Health and Skill Development
along with professional bodies to match the
“I believe the encouragement employer’s standards.
provided to startups and setting
up investment clearance and “District hospitals present a
advisory cells will open more good opportunity to young
avenues in digital health.” medical students to gain
experience on a variety of
-Abhishek Shah, medical cases. The incentives
Co-Founder, Wellthy Therapeutics announced to states willing to
associate hospitals to medical colleges will help
“It is a great budget for startups address the ever-increasing demand of
especially focused on the healthcare professionals. Quality talent being
manufacturing sector. The available will help private and public healthcare
announcements on setting up institutions scale up their capabilities to provide
knowledge and technology better care to patients.”
clusters to empower startups -Sameer Sah, Partner, Khaitan & Co
will potentially set a new direction for
aspirational entrepreneurs in the country, going “We are glad to see the
forward.” government’s plan to increase
the number of medical colleges
-Malay Dikshit, at district level with special
Founder & CEO, Piscium Health training packages for doctors.
This will help towards reducing
Sciences the shortfall of trained healthcare professionals
in the country.”
Quantum Technology -Shireesh Sahai, CEO, Wolters Kluwer India

Government has proposed to provide an “It is welcoming to know about
outlay of Rs 8000 crore over a period of five the special courses designed for
years for the National Mission on Quantum nursing, para medical staff and
Technologies and Applications. caregivers. It is a good budget
for the educational sector
“The investment of Rs 8,000 particularly for the medical
crore for National Mission of education sector going forward.”
Quantum Technology and
Application is a noteworthy -Saju Bhaskar,
announcement for the Founder & President,
healthcare industry.” Texila American University

-Zoya Brar,
Founder & CEO, CORE Diagnostics

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com UNION BUDGET 2020-21 21

Customs invest extensively in improving healthcare services
in tier I-II cities in the country. Announcement of
To give impetus to domestic industry, and to extending the ambit of Ayushman Bharat through
generate resource for health services, government the establishment of PPP model hospitals in 112
has proposed to impose a nominal health cess of 5 new districts of India will improve healthcare
per cent on imports of specified medical equipment. infrastructure. Increasing the budgetary allocation for
the healthcare sector to Rs 69,000 crores will enhance
“The proposal to introduce a primary health coverage and strengthen health and
health cess on import of medical wellness centers (announced under Ayushman Bharat)
equipment does not fit the which will help to reduce the disease burden.’’
narrative. Currently, the Indian
medical devices industry draws In midst of these positive notes, the industry is
on the strengths of international expressing concerns and disappointment as well.
technology to a large extent. The healthcare “The healthcare proposals of Union Budget 2020
spends burden on the common Indian almost though titled ‘Caring India’ is a mixed bag. While
instantly tends to increase with this cess, in an the marginal increase in healthcare allocation to Rs
almost completely out-of-pocket market that India 69000 crore, from the past year’s Rs 62,000 crore, is
is still. It is my expectation and belief that the welcome, it still is a very small percentage of our GDP
Finance Minister adopts a consultative approach and does not supplement the Government’s plans to
building in recommendations from the industry enable affordable and accessible healthcare to all in
and patient voices before this is implemented.” the country”, points out Shravan Subramanyam,
Managing Director, India and Neighbouring
- Shravan Subramanyam, Markets, Roche Diagnostics India.
Managing Director, India and Neighbouring
Kanchana TK, Former Director General,
Markets, Roche Diagnostics India Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers
of India (OPPI) adds her perspective and says,
“India’s import duty is the lowest “The healthcare budget is cold. From allocating Rs
among BRIC countries, at zero to 65,000 crore for health in FY20, the allocation for
7.5 percent, making it cheaper to FY21 is 67,484, an increase of less than Rs 2,500
import devices rather than crore which translates to less than 4 percent. The
encouraging home grown, allocation for the government’s flagship scheme
cutting edge technology Indian Ayushman Bharat (Rs 6429 crore) is less than the
devices. We had demanded the duty to be raised to Rs 6556 crore allocated in FY20. Patients pay
15-20 per cent, as lower import duties dissuades 70 percent of healthcare costs as out-of-pocket
manufacturers from producing them in India.” expenses. Given the high disease burden from non-
communicable diseases (NCDs) which account for
-Suresh Vazirani, 60 percent of the total disease burden, the allocation
Chairman & Managing Director, Transasia-Erba Group for healthcare will not even cover inflation for poor
patients and their families.”
“We were expecting the
government to move forward on In line with this thought, Dr Azad Moopen,
promised reforms and Founder Chairman, Aster DM Healthcare
anticipated conducive measures states, “It is unfortunate that the allocation of Rs
to boost domestic manufacturing 69000 crores for the sector is only just 1 per cent of
of the medical devices. It is GDP which will be highly inadequate for any major
frustrating that against our expectations, the leap forward in the sector.”
government has not included any measures to
help end the 80-90 per cent import dependence Nevertheless, the government continues to
forced upon us and an ever increasing import bill keep the healthcare sector as an integral part of its
of over Rs. 38,837 Crore and promoting growth key priorities. By 2030, India will have the largest
Indian Medical Device industry. working-age population in the world and therefore,
more than ever before, addressing NCDs will be
-Rajiv Nath, India’s immediate imperative. What is left to be seen
Forum Coordinator, Association of is that how the government ensures that every Indian
Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) receives awareness about their health status and
helps them make lifestyle changes as needed.

Dr Manbeena Chawla
[email protected]

22 SPEAKING WITH BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

“RESEARCH
ON NCDs IS
LAGGING BEHIND”

From Director General (DG), Indian How would you describe your current
Council of Medical research (ICMR) international stint as a Chief Scientist of
and Secretary, Department of Health World Health Organisation (WHO)? How has
Research, Dr Soumya Swaminathan been your experience since you took over in
went to Geneva in October 2017 to take March 2019?
over as the Deputy Director General
(DDG) of Programmes at the World The role of the Chief Scientist is a new one and it is

Health Organisation (WHO), to be very interesting and a challenging position. It is a
the first Indian to hold this position.
Exactly a year back, in March 2019, new position created in WHO. Although WHO is the
she took over as the WHO’s first Chief
Scientist, a new position heading a science-based organization, Dr Adhanom Tedros,
division created as a part of sweeping
reforms at WHO to have an explicit Director General, WHO, wants to ensure that there
focus on science. A year after taking
over the new and important position at is an explicit focus on science and hence this new
an international level that is expected
division and a new position to head that division
to create a foundation for a new
department, Dr Soumya Swaminathan was created.

spoke to Milind Kokje, chief editor,
BioSpectrum while she was in Chennai,

India recently about her new role, its
responsibilities and other health related

issues. Edited excerpts;

Dr Soumya Swaminathan,
Chief Scientist,

World Health Organisation,
Geneva

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com SPEAKING WITH 23

Our mission is two-fold. First, to ensure that What are
WHO stays ahead of the curve to have sight on what your views on
is coming in terms of new scientific and technological the implementation of
developments. Not only because those developments new age technologies such as
can be leveraged for public health, but also, we Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning
need to be prepared to meet some of the (ML) in the healthcare sector? Is enough
new challenges, especially ethical and progress taking place? What more needs to
regulatory challenges which invariably are be done?
associated with new technology as there
are risks that need to be addressed and We are all aware and there is no doubt that
minimized. That is one of our major focus. digital technologies are revolutionising all fields
including health. It is advancing rapidly. But on
The second focus is to ensure technical the regulatory side, the norms and standards and
excellence, relevance and efficiency of guidelines have not kept pace with it. We are now
our own core functions like the norms focusing on developing standards and guidelines
and standards that WHO produces for use of artificial intelligence in medical devices,
in the area of health. So, the way diagnostics as well as helping countries to develop
we are doing this is setting up their own digital health strategies. Digital health and
new functions apart from the innovation is another department we have for this
core group that will be set up. work which is interesting and exciting.
That group will look at the
norms and standards to ensure On the innovation side, what we hope to do is to be
that the right methodology able to connect innovators and funders in innovations
is being used and also that we with ministry of health in the member states in order
are addressing the needs of our member- to match new innovations with unmet needs and have
states and prioritising on the things for which a process by which the scale up and sustainability of
we need to produce reports. But beyond that innovations can be addressed. The lack of innovation
we have new departments looking after research is not a problem at the moment. But it is scale and
because again there is WHO’s core mandate that is to sustainability. We are also trying to look into kind of
promote and facilitate research especially on global policies which can promote value creation for public
health priorities, which may not be articulated by good as we believe that research is an enterprise which
other agencies or research funders. So, we want to
ensure that the real unmet health needs are brought
out, agendas are set and we promote both product
development and also research on those diseases
which are disproportionately affecting poorer
communities and countries.

We will not only be working closely with
research agencies in lower and middle-income
countries but also with the big research funders and
product development partnerships all of which are
focused on developing products mainly to address
communicable diseases. One of the gaps we have
seen now on doing analysis is that research on
non-communicable diseases is lagging behind even
though the burden of those is growing even in the
poorest countries. There is a mismatch between
burden of disease and research funding which needs
to be addressed and WHO is well placed to do that.
Apart from that, the other issues we are looking at are
data sharing principles, policies on specimen sharing,
genomic sequence sharing between countries and
researchers in a way in which we can promote
international collaboration while addressing major
public health issues like outbreaks of known or
unknown pathogens.

24 SPEAKING WITH BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

“I THINK THE MENTORING OF YOUNG SCIENTISTS drugs. Similarly, for antimicrobial resistance infections
IS VERY IMPORTANT. VERY OFTEN WE FIND THAT we need new antibiotics. There is no doubt about
THE QUALITY OF PHDS THAT ARE BEING DONE ARE that. It is true that the investment in new antibiotics
REALLY NOT OF HIGH QUALITY. CRITICAL THINKING by the large MNC pharmaceutical companies has
IS NOT INCULCATED IN YOUNG SCIENTISTS. IT dramatically gone down in the last few years as they
IS NOT INCULCATED RIGHT SINCE SCHOOLS. WE do not see a big profitable market in this. Any new
SHOULD BE ENCOURAGING CHILDREN TO ASK antibiotic that is developed has to be preserved for
QUESTIONS. STARTING FROM SCHOOL LEVEL TO certain special serious infections. So, this is a good
GRADUATE, POST-GRADUATE LEVEL CRITICAL example of area where we need to develop mechanisms
THINKING NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED. ALSO to incentivize R&D. At the moment it is mostly being
WRITING SKILLS NEED TO IMPROVE. WE ARE done by smaller biotech companies in India as well as
WEAK ON WRITING SKILLS. I THINK THE SCIENCE abroad. But it needs an ecosystem to support. Today,
AGENCIES CAN PLAY A BIG ROLE IN SHAPING THIS. the funding that is going is rather piecemeal, either in
BUT CONSIDERING THE SCIENCE IN THE COUNTRY early stage development or there are some funders who
AND CAPACITIES WE HAVE, OUR RESEARCH fund clinical trials but there is no end to end process
OUTPUT IS NOT UP TO THE MARK.” right now for development of antibiotics or cancer
medicines. This is something that the government
involves governments, private sector, industries, needs to look at in countries like India and other
civil society. There are multiple stake holders and growing economies. We need to focus on what are our
ultimately the beneficiaries are people, patients in priorities and how can we incentivize our own industry,
the healthcare system. When there is a lot of public academia, research institutes to work together for value
funding or philanthropic funding that is going into product. There is a need globally as well as at national
innovations, we want to ensure that the benefits are to level to implement some mechanisms.
the public and not disproportionately captured by the
private sector. This is an area which was addressed by Recently there was news that India stands
many commissions and reports in the past. second in the publications of research
papers, but still the condition of research in
How do you do R&D for diseases for which India is not so good. From an international
there is a market failure? How do you perspective, how do you feel we can enhance
promote innovations which are not only the health and medical research in India to
generating IP for individuals as a group but address the growing burden of diseases?
generating for public value?
I think we need to first of all decide what our
Public Goods for Health is a concept which is very priorities are. This should be done in an inclusive
much a focus of WHO. We have been doing some manner. The priority setting usually gets done by
work on developing access policies, and access to scientists in the academic sector. We never think
healthcare. We have not only been doing a lot of work of asking the society or the other people that really
both on the side of transparency on pricing which participate. Very often the values and preferences are
will definitely improve affordability, but also more different. The government has a different viewpoint.
upstream on the R&D side, on the kind of policies Academics has a different view and ultimatly the
that funders could use to promote the affordable common man on the street will have different views.
access to new products. So, we need to do priority setting.

No new antibiotics have been developed The second important aspect is the reward
since the 1980s. What kind of programmes system within the academic that needs to be
do you have to address the issue of the new looked at. Today we have a system where you are
class of antibiotics? rewarded or rather your promotion is based on
the number of publications, the quality of which
In the field of tuberculosis for forty years we did is not somehow given importance. I think quality
not have a new antibiotic and then it was Johnson needs to be given more credit than numbers. And
&Johnson who came up with Bedaquiline in 2013. Now secondly the social impact of your publication and
we have two more new drugs. But we need many more work also needs to be given weightage. If your work
has had a transformative impact on some aspects of
people’s life and if it is not published in a high-profile
publication, still which needs to be given credit. I
think it is being considered by many of the science
agencies now. Third I think the mentoring of young

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com SPEAKING WITH 25

scientists is very important. Very often we find that “INDIA CONTRIBUTES TO 27 PER CENT OF THE
the quality of PhDs that are being done are really not GLOBAL TB BURDEN WHICH IS HUGE. THE NATURE
of high quality. Critical thinking is not inculcated OF THE DISEASE IS SUCH THAT IT CANNOT BE
in young scientists. It is not inculcated right since ELIMINATED IN A SHORT SPAN OF TIME. I THINK
schools. We should be encouraging children to ask WE WILL HAVE TO TAKE A LONGER TERM VIEW.
questions. Starting from school level to graduate, BUT THE GOOD THING OF THIS COMMITMENT IS,
post-graduate level critical thinking needs to be THERE IS A STRONG POLITICAL COMMITMENT
developed. Also writing skills need to improve. We AND WILL TO ADDRESS THE BURDEN OF TB.
are weak on writing skills. I think the science agencies FIRST TIME WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE PRIME
can play a big role in shaping this. But considering MINISTER AND THE TOP LEADERS TALKING ABOUT
the science in the country and capacities we have, our ELIMINATING TB AND THAT GIVES BIG IMPETUS TO
research output is not up to the mark. THE PROGRAMME. WHAT IS NECESSARY NOW IS
TO BRING ALL THE TECHNICAL TOOLS THAT ARE
What plans does WHO have for India for AVAILABLE, ALSO AT THE SAME TIME INVESTING
2020? IN NEW TOOLS, AS THERE ARE NO VACCINES
AND THE TREATMENT IS VERY LONG AND
We are working with the Ministries of Health and CUMBERSOME. WE NEED INVESTMENT IN R&D AND
Department of Biotechnology (DBT) on a number of ALSO INVESTMENT IN USING THE EXISTING TOOLS
areas. DBT has the National Biopharma Mission for
which they have asked for WHO’s support in terms of TO THE MAXIMUM CAPACITY.”
capacity building on regulatory side and also support
on technical side. Then we are working with Health very long and cumbersome. We need investment in
Ministry on many areas such as the upgradation of R&D and also investment in using the existing tools
the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization to the maximum capacity.
(CDSCO) because India wants to become a stringent
regulatory authority in the next five years and WHO When we talk about TB we often talk about
has a system of gradation. We need to work on Multi Drug Resistant TB that has increased.
attaining highest level of regulatory expertise. Another Antibiotic resistance has also developed to an
area of course is the Ayushman Bharat where we are alarming level. Is there anything that can be
working with Health Ministry and National Health done from your role as WHO chief scientist?
Authority (NHA) on doing some operational research
and implementation research to strengthen the There is a new programme that is being created
delivery of services and to have a feedback system. with Assistant Director General as in charge, where
WHO’s main focus is on Universal Health Coverage there is prioritization being done for antimicrobial
(UHC), especially on primary healthcare and that’s resistance which is looking at all aspects – from
where India has made a strong commitment. We are infection control in hospitals to antibiotic stewardship
keen to see this programme succeed. for promoting research etc. The entire spectrum is
being covered. Also setting up global surveillance
How do you foresee elimination of TB in system and similarly for TB we have a department
India? Can we meet the deadline of 2025? which over the years has been very active in policy
making and coming up with new guidelines to develop
India contributes to 27 per cent of the global TB new drugs. We make sure that these guidelines are
burden which is huge. It is not a disease for which available for countries to use and there is also focus
there is a vaccine. If you vaccinate everybody you on research for TB because one of the three pillars of
get rid of the disease. It is also a disease with a long global TB programme is research and innovation, the
incubation period. It is airborne. So there are many other two are patient centered care and focus on the
challenges. The nature of the disease is such that it determinants. TB is a disease of poverty, there is a
cannot be eliminated in a short span of time. I think need to address the social determinants as well as the
we will have to take a longer term view. But the good bio-medical component.
thing of this commitment is, there is a strong political
commitment and will to address the burden of TB. Milind Kokje
First time we actually have the Prime Minister and [email protected]
the top leaders talking about eliminating TB and
that gives big impetus to the programme. What is
necessary now is to bring all the technical tools that
are available, also at the same time investing in new
tools, as there are no vaccines and the treatment is

26 COVER STORY BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

ACHIEVING
MILESTONES
OF SUCCESS
As nations around the world celebrate
International Women’s Day on March should be more concerned
8, with the theme #EachforEqual, the about developing an enabling
number of companies that have had women environment to attract and
in a leadership role continues to expand. retain women in the workforce”,
But the list is still relatively short, and even points out Aishwarya
when women have made it to power, they Vasudevan, Group COO, Neuberg
have rarely led for a long time. Diagnostics.
A similar thought was shared
Globally women at leadership position by Swati Piramal, Vice Chairperson,
are very less and only 4.9 per cent of Piramal Enterprises at the recently
Fortune 500 companies have women held biotechnology and life sciences
at leadership position. India has one of forum BioAsia 2020 in Hyderabad,
the lowest labour force participation by where she suggested the Telangana
women, when compared to countries government to prepare 1 million girls
across the globe. As per the estimates by well in science and maths to join the life
TechSci Research, the total workforce
in pharma / life sciences space in
India was 75,000 in 2019. Out of this,
around 1150 women are working in
the industry at the top level or C-level,
which accounts for less than 2 per cent.

“In India the problem is two
pronged. First, in a typically male-
heavy work force, pipeline issues like
lesser jobs for women at entry level,
stuck in mid-career level and locked
from top positions do play a role, but
in addition to it the societal construct
demands women to take care of the
household, with little or almost
no support, especially in a nuclear
family set-up. There is a hushed-up
discrimination against women at
most workplace and companies need
to eradicate it first. Policy makers

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com COVER STORY 27

sciences industry. “Women can take “Women who
this industry and the country forward. often compete
Hyderabad is a big pharma and biotech hub with men to get into
which can offer tremendous opportunities for plum positions often have
the women who can pursue their career in the to face being talked down
male dominated industry”, she adds. upon or being structurally
discouraged from pursuing
In addition, Indian family businesses have desired roles. On a positive
started witnessing a systematic rise in women note, the modern-day women
leadership and empowerment. This result takes are making moves, taking
us by surprise because the Indian families have action and are claiming
traditionally been the patriarchal space ruled by leadership position
efficient male members. As a result, the women are with much élan. These
gathering the required education and training, and trailblazers have groomed
then stepping into their family enterprises to prove themselves into a robust
their mettle. force who are independent
and determined, more
Another area within the industry that has engaged in making their own
seen increased women participation is the startup career choices, progressive,
space. However, unfortunately low rates of women risk-takers and have become
entrepreneurship were reflected in a dismal score in business leaders by accelerating
the Index of Women Entrepreneurs in 2019, where gender equality and giving
India ranked 52 out of the 57 surveyed countries. a miss to the age factor”,
This gives us the indication that the full potential mentions Dr Karishma
of women entrepreneurs need to be harnessed Jaradi, Aesthetic Dentist
in order to promote innovation, economic - Dentzz Dental.
growth, and job creation. Indeed, women
are getting stronger
and more engaged in
careers, with age no
bar. Some are taking
greater risks, often to
make a greater impact.
Some have just stepped
into the waters,
while some have
made it big through
their hard work and
determination.
Celebrating the
power of womanhood,
BioSpectrum has
profiled leaders,
entrepreneurs, and
family business heiress
in the life sciences
industry, who are yet
to achieve a milestone
of 50 years of age, but
are already adding to the
company in ways that
enrich it.
Dr Manbeena Chawla

(Inputs from
Kalyani Sharma)

28 COVER STORY BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com
FAMILY BUSINESS

VINITA GUPTA

Chief Executive Officer, Lupin, Mumbai
Vinita Gupta is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lupin
Limited since 2013 and a member of the Board of Directors.
She is also the Chairperson of Lupin Inc., and its subsidiary
Lupin Pharmaceutical Inc. (LPI). Daughter of Desh Bandhu Gupta, who
established the company Lupin in 1968 to fight then rampant diseases such as
asthma, tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes, Vinita has transformed the company
into a global leader in the pharmaceutical space. It is under her leadership that
Lupin has become one of the largest and fastest growing generics players in
the U.S. The company’s net sales stood at Rs 163,694 crore in FY19 as compared
to Rs 155,598 crore in FY18, registering a growth of 5.2 per cent. Vinita along with
her brother Nilesh Gupta make the perfect team with her managing the front-
end and Nilesh manning the back-end. Besides her father, another strong pillar
of support for Vinita is her husband Brij Sharma, a US-based entrepreneur.
A pharmacy graduate from the University of Mumbai and an MBA from J L
Kellogg Graduate School of Management, US, Vinita is not one to rest on her
laurels, because for her a lot remains to be done.

NAMITA THAPAR

Executive director, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Pune
For Namita Thapar, Executive Director, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, things were
never served on a platter, as often is the case when family business is handed
over. A young achiever, she became a Chartered Accountant at 21, then got her
MBA from Duke University and worked in the US for six years before her father
approached her to join the business in 2006. The decision took off well and Namita
stepped into Emcure. Currently, she looks at finance, HR and the business in India
with over 4,000 medical representatives, whereas her husband Vikas Thapar and
brother Samit Mehta look at the global business. She has launched a programme
called Prerna that is aimed at increasing the representation of women in the
company, which has doubled to 20 per cent in the past few years. Apart from Emcure,
Namita is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Incredible Ideas, a
franchisee of Young Entrepreneurs Academy in the US, which brings innovative

entrepreneurship education to middle and high school students in India. In
addition, she is also an acrive member of Young Presidents Organisation.

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com COVER STORY 29

MOURYA BODA

Chairperson and Managing Director, Brilliant Bio Pharma, Hyderabad
Mourya Boda, daughter of T G Venkatesh, Ex-Minister and present Member of Parliament,
is spearheading the company Brilliant Bio Pharma, since 2005 when was just 23. She holds
a Bachelor Degree in Law and Masters in Business Management. She was the Chairperson
of YFLO, Hyderabad Chapter (a Division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce
and Industry, FICCI) during the year 2012-2013. Mourya has been conferred with International
Women Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) 2015 Award from the Governor of Istanbul during
the 9th IWEC Conference held in Istanbul, hosted by Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. She
is presently the governing body member of Blue Cross of Hyderabad. Under her leadership,
the company generated a revenue of Rs 140 crore in 2018-19 growing at a rate of 8 per cent.
At present, Mourya is engaged in increasing the company’s production capacity of Foot
& Mouth disease (FMD) vaccine in order to meet the expected increase in demand of this
vaccine in the FMD Control Programme in India. Alongside, she is also planning to enlarge
the presence in the animal vaccines market with launch of new vaccines for the small
livestock such as sheep and goats. She is also planning to develop other cattle vaccines such
as for Brucellosis and Theileriosis and a full range of canine vaccines.

SAMINA HAMIED

Executive Vice Chairperson, Cipla, Mumbai
Samina Hamied is serving as the Executive Vice Chairperson at the pharmaceutical
firm Cipla, where her uncle YK Hamied is the non-executive chairman and her father,
MK Hamied, is the non-executive vice chairman. She represents the third generation of
Cipla’s founding family. Samina is a masters in International Accounting and Finance
from the London School of Economics and Political Science. An alumna of the London
School of Economics, she has in the past worked in UK and the US with the leading global
firm Goldman Sachs before joining Cipla in 2011. Samina joined Cipla as a member of
management team. In 2013, she was designated as the Head Strategic Projects – Cipla New Ventures. She was appointed
as an Executive Director of the company in 2015 and subsequently she was elevated as the Executive Vice-Chairperson in
2016. She has been instrumental in driving the company’s current transformation agenda. Samina has played a key role
in successfully incubating and shaping Cipla Health Limited, spearheaded Cipla’s ambitious foray into the US market with
strategic acquisitions. Samina has built a top-class leadership pipeline for the company as it continues to spread its wings
globally. At present, Samina focuses on board and governance issues, in addition to furthering Cipla’s strategic priorities
through key global partnerships, corporate culture, hiring the right talent, and public advocacy.

MAHIMA DATLA

Managing Director, Biological E, Hyderabad
Mahima Datla took over as the Managing Director (MD) of the Hyderabad based vaccine
manufacturing company Biological E Limited in 2013, in the backdrop of the untimely
demise of her father Vijay Kumar Datla, then Chairman and Managing Director of the
company. Mahima had been working as Senior Vice-President in the company for the past
16 years, and was unanimously elected to take the mantle from her father. Since then she
has been directly overseeing strategic operations within the organisation and is leading
the work related to public policy. Under her leadership, Biological E has demonstrated
growth, given the successful WHO pre-qualification and launch of the Pentavalent and Japanese Encephalitis vaccines. In
January 2020, the company has also launched new typhoid conjugate vaccine. The company generated a revenue of Rs
672 crore in 2018-19 growing at a rate of 33 per cent. Apart from the company, Mahima is a member of FICCI (Federation
of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) National Biotech committees
in India. She is currently a board member of the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund – a Japanese government
innovation healthcare fund for improving global access to healthcare. Mahima holds a graduate degree in Business
Administration Management from Webster University, London (UK).

30 COVER STORY BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

HARITA VASIREDDI Abbott Laboratories. Nandini heads the Human Resources
and Information Technology functions at Piramal Group
Managing Director, Vimta and the quality & risk functions for the Pharma business.
Labs, Hyderabad She has recently initiated an HR transformation strategy,
Harita Vasireddi joined her with renewed focus on service delivery, customer centricity
father Dr S P Vasireddi’s and operational excellence. She holds a Master’s Degree in
company Vimta Labs in Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School
the year 2002. Prior to of Business and a Bachelor’s Degree (Hons.) in Politics,
becoming the Managing Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University.
Director in 2013, she served
the company in several positions i.e., Joint Managing DR JALACHARI
Director, Director-Quality, Director-Projects & Manager- ELLA
Operations. Harita has been instrumental in development
of Quality Management Systems as per global standards Head, Corporate Strategy
which helped establish Vimta in the international markets & Communications,
and helped the company’s evolution into being India’s Bharat Biotech
premier and world class contract research and testing International, Hyderabad
organization. With more than 16 years of experience, A Doctor of Medicine
Harita holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration in dermatology from
from Boston College, USA and a Bachelor’s degree in Narayana Medical
Pharmaceutical Sciences from Mysore University, India. College in Nellore, Dr Jalachari Ella entered into her
father Dr Krishna Ella’s company Bharat Biotech
NATASHA International in 2016, serving as the Senior Manager
POONAWALLA Product Development. After gathering some experience
in this space, Dr Jalachari was given the charge to lead
Executive Director, Serum the corporate strategy area for the company in 2018.
Institute of India, Pune Besides managing her responsibilities at Bharat Biotech,
Brought up in Pune, she has developed a company called Anamay Biotech
Natasha Poonawalla did which specializes in bio-therapeutics and cosmeceuticals
her basic schooling at St. primarily for the skin. Currently, with products for wound
Mary’s School, Pune and healing, and prevention of scars in her kitty, she is working
then went on to pursue on diverse portfolios for both adults and children.
a bachelor’s degree
from Pune University. In 2004, she received a Master’s of VIDHI SALGAOCAR
Science degree from the London School of Economics.
Soon after, she got married to Adar Poonawalla who is Head, Consumer
serving as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Serum Healthcare, Sun Pharma,
Institute of India, one of the largest vaccine manufacturing Mumbai
company in the world. A philanthropist by nature, Natasha A graduate in economics
is the chairperson of the Villoo Poonawalla Foundation, from the Wharton
Executive Director of Serum Institute of India, Director School of the University
of the Poonawalla Science Park in the Netherlands and of Pennsylvania, Vidhi
Director of Villoo Poonawalla Racing and Breeding. Salgaocar joined her
father Dilip Shanghvi’s company Sun Pharmaceuticals in
NANDINI PIRAMAL 2012. A few years later in 2018, she was handed over the
charge as the head of the consumer division in order to
Executive Director, Piramal lead the marketing function of the India business. Over
Enterprises, Mumbai the time, Vidhi has played a major role in developing
Nandini Piramal, daughter the nutrition business of Sun Pharma and spearheaded
of Ajay Piramal, is the the company’s strategy to enter the nutrition space.
Executive Director of The consumer healthcare is a separate business division
Piramal Enterprises and engaged in developing and marketing over-the-counter
leads the Over-The- (OTC) products in India. This division offers five key brands
Counter (OTC) business and many products, including two of the top 10 OTC
of the company. Under Nandini’s leadership, the OTC brands – Revital H and Volini. On the personal front, Vidhi
business has emerged as one of the fastest growing is married to Vivek Salgaocar, son of Ranjana and Shiv
Indian OTC companies. She played a pivotal role in Piramal Salgaocar of the VM Salgaocar clan from Goa.
Healthcare’s branded generic-medicine business sale to

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com COVER STORY 31

GLOCAL COMPANIES

RITU LADDHA

Vice President, Zydus Cadila, Ahmedabad
A post graduate in pharmaceutical sciences from Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) in Baroda,
Ritu Laddha stepped into Zydus Cadila in 2007. After spending 13 years in the organization,
Ritu has come a long way and moved from one position to another. Ritu started her journey at
Zydus as the Deputy General Manager, from 2007 to 2010. Following which she took over as the
General Manager of Cadila Pharmaceuticals till 2013. After that, she was handed over the position
of the Vice President in June 2013. In her current role, she is taking care of the business for orally
inhaled and nasal drug products, oral solid dosage (OSD) and the new chemical entities (NCEs).

AISHWARYA VASUDEVAN MEENAKSHI NEVATIA

Group Chief Operating Officer, Neuberg Managing Director,
Diagnostics, Bengaluru Stryker India, Gurugram
With over 17 years of experience, Aishwarya An MBA in Strategy and Finance
Vasudevan, Group Chief Operating Officer from the Indian Institute of
(COO), Neuberg Diagnostics comes with a rich Management, Ahmedabad, and
background in sales, marketing, operations, Bachelor of Science in Economics
training, customer engagement and quality. and Mathematics from the
She has conducted corporate workshops and Presidency College, Kolkata,
trained employees of many corporates, including Dell, Accenture, Infosys and Meenakshi Nevatia’s first work
Mahindra. She has also successfully managed an aggressive expansion of assignment was with McKinsey &
centres within record turn-around time. Above-the-line and Below-the-line Company in 1994 where she led
(ATL & BTL) Marketing is another area of expertise that she brings to the table, various projects in the healthcare
along with extensive knowledge in market research, target group marketing, practice in India, Singapore, U.S.
product launches and driving brand perception management. Aishwarya and South Africa. Moving on,
believes that the key to every successful business is unwavering passion for she led a successful 15-year stint
customer excellence, and her corporate journey has allowed her to set up with Novartis, where she served
many systems to study, measure and improve customer delight. Her previous in various sales, marketing and
organisations include GE, Marico, Dr Batra’s Positive Health Clinics etc. business leadership positions
across geographies. Meenakshi
SHUBHI KHURANA stepped into her current role
as the Managing Director (MD)
Country Head & General Manager, India & at Stryker India in 2018. In her
South Asia, ResMed, New Delhi new role, she is responsible for
Shubhi Khurana joined ResMed India in 2019, building up business strategy for
bringing along with her over two decades the US headquartered medical
of experience in the healthcare and related technology company Stryker in
industries in India. She is responsible for the Indian market. Additionally,
business operations in India, Bangladesh, one of her priorities is to cultivate
Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Her mission a strong commitment to Stryker’s
is to educate the estimated 52 million Indians living with sleep apnea, and mission and values in India.
about 30 million people suffering from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
Disease). Just before joining ResMed, she had been in a senior management
position in Capsugel, among the largest suppliers of innovative dosage forms
to the pharmaceuticals and biotech industry. Earlier she had been serving
as the Country Manager for India and South Asia at Baxalta, a spin-off from
Baxter, the multinational company dealing with a wide range of medical
devices. In the earlier stages of her career, she had served as the Country
Manager for Philippines and Taiwan with Ranbaxy. Shubhi obtained her MSc
degree in Biotechnology from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1995, after which
she completed her MBA from International Management Institute (IMI).

32 COVER STORY BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

ENTREPRENEURS

ZOYA BRAR

Founder & Managing Director, CORE Diagnostics, New Delhi
Zoya Brar founded CORE Diagnostics in 2012 when she was 23 years old. Her interest in
precise disease stratification, therapy selection and to provide definitive diagnosis within
shortest turnaround time, led her in this direction. Over the years, the business has grown
nearly 5 per cent on a month-on-month basis and the startup has raised a total of $16
million in two rounds. Before succumbing to the entrepreneurship bug, Zoya has worked
at Google for two years in various roles in business development and customer outreach. This was preceded by a stint in
the education sector, where Zoya worked at WLC College in business development and HR roles. Zoya has a bachelor’s
degree in Sociology from Lady Sriram College, Delhi University.

NEHA RASTOGI DR BINITA
SHRIVASTAVA TUNGA
Founder & Chief Operating
Officer, Agatsa, Noida Director & Co - founder,
An entrepreneur with over a Ameliorate Biotech, Bengaluru
decade of experience in creating With an altruistic streak fueling
affordable and technologically her persistence, Dr Binita
advanced healthcare products Shrivastava Tunga’s vision is to
and marketing them, Neha Rastogi benefit the lives and health of
started Agatsa in 2013. Along potentially millions of people
with being the co-founder of the by creating revolutionary healthcare products. As a result,
company, Neha is also the one she initiated a startup venture along with her husband Dr
who conceptualized and built the Rashbehari Tunga, Ameliorate Biotech in 2015. After putting in
prototype of its flagship product extensive research, the startup has created a single device that
– the SanketLife ECG monitor, a detects the three most prevalent mosquito-borne diseases:
pocket-sized monitor that captures Malaria, Chikungunya, and Dengue, effectively and accurately, in
readings via embedded thumb the very early stages of infection. With over 12 years of industrial
and chest sensors. The sales drive experience, Dr Binita has to her credit building up and leading
is still conservative since Neha is analytical and quality control teams in R&D and quality divisions
concentrating on getting feedback at companies like Intas, Cadila and Strides Pharma.
for continuous improvements, such
as getting validation from the All DR SUMONA KARJEE
India Institute of Medical Sciences MISHRA
and the Indian Council of Medical
Research. Her aim is to plug into Founder, Prantae Solutions,
state health programmes where Khorda, Odisha
low-cost solutions for remote Drawing inspiration from
diagnostics are in demand. her daughter, Dr Sumona
Neha is an Electronics and Karjee Mishra planned out
Telecommunications engineer her startup venture Prantae
Solutions in 2015, focused on
with a BTech degree from pregnancy healthcare and other related disorders. A PhD holder
Aligarh Muslim University. from the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and
Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi, Dr Sumona has translated
the understandings of science into usable products for better
health and better world. After extensive research and studies,
her startup has developed four innovative products- EyeRa,
an early detection platform for preeclampsia; ProFolU, a
smartphone-based self-health monitoring device for kidney
health; Salubrious, a solution for hidden hunger; and Embargo, a
detection platform for antibiotics in food products.

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com COVER STORY 33

SUBHADRA DRAVIDA SAVITHA KUTTAN

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Transcell Biologics, Chief Executive Officer, Omnicuris, Bengaluru
Hyderabad After spending over a decade working as a healthcare
An experimentalist for long before turning into an consultant in the United States and Europe, Savitha
entrepreneur in the same field, Subhadra Dravida is the Kuttan returned to India in 2009 to take upon herself
Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hyderabad the task of improving the quality of healthcare in the
based biotech company Transcell Biologics. She is an country after losing someone in the family. Savitha
entrepreneurial technocrat of global standing having started Omnicuris in 2016 as first-of-its-kind startup to
worked in the USA, Canada and India in the domains of provide online digital Continuous Medical Education
stem cell research, biobanking and product development. (CME) of doctors by taking advantage of advanced digital
Under her stewardship, Transcell Biologics has evolved technology. It is a cloud-based learning management
from its inception as an R&D unit in 2011 to a fully program for medical practitioners. With over 35
integrated biotechnology enterprise encompassing a collaborations and 700 Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs)
well-balanced business portfolio offering indigenous associated with it, Savitha’s startup venture has
technologies on biobanking and processing services with trained over a lakh doctors across 15
drug discovery research integrating regenerative medicine states in different specialties. Before
into clinical practice. Subadhra is a biologist by education starting Omnicuris, Savitha had been
with clinical informatics research experience having being serving as the Vice President at Mylan
associated professionally with the University of North Laboratories Limited, which is when
Carolina, USA, and Ottawa Health Research Institute, she learnt about the nitty-
Canada. Outside of work, she explores monasteries, night gritties of the healthcare
skies and reads science fiction. industry.

NUSRAT JAHAN M. SANGHAMITRA

Founder & CEO, CyCa OncoSolutions, Baleswar, Odisha
Best described as a scientist, entrepreneur and motivator, Nusrat Jahan M. Sanghamitra is
committed to make a difference in people’s life by her scientific and personal endeavors. She
is a chemist by training with a fascination for biology. After actively pursuing research at the
institutes of international repute, she founded CyCa OncoSolutions in 2017 to translate her ideas
and research from bench to bedside, to make an impact in oncology and to make significant
contribution to the global fight against cancer. The startup, mentored by Kerala Startup Mission
(KSUM), has developed an efficient, non-toxic in vitro and in vivo delivery method to battle cancer. It
is a molecular drilling device that can directly inject the anti-cancer drugs to the affected cells with
precision. Adding motivation to her efforts, Nusrat’s startup venture was placed third at the She
Loves Tech Global Startup Competition held in 2019 in Beijing. Her long term vision and dream is to
establish a one stop solution centre for cancer in her native place in Odisha.

34 BIOINCUBATORS SURVEY BIOSPECTRUM | OCTOBER 2019 | www.biospectrumindia.com

Bhubaneswar based BioIncubator Bangalore based BioIncubator
KIIT Technology Business Incubator is Bangalore Bioincubation Centre is

No 1 BioSpectrum BioIncubator No 1 BioSpectrum BioIncubator
under Private Sector under Public Sector

Bhubaneshwar based private  KIIT Technology Business Incubator, Bhubaneswar, Odisha leads the
BioIncubator KIIT Technology table in funds raised with Rs 25.45 crore raised in 2018-19 category
Business Incubator leads the followed by Entrepreneurship Development Center (Venture Center),
BioSpectrum BioIncubator Survey in Pune with Rs 21.6 crore and ASPIRE-BioNEST, Hyderabad (Rs 4 crore).
Private sector with 23 points followed
by Pune based Entrepreneurship  Atal Incubation Centre (Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology) (AIC-
Development Center (Venture Center) CCMB), Hyderabad leads the table of Memorandum of Understandings
with 21 points (stands second) and signed in 2018-19 with 12 followed by Crescent Innovation & Incubation
Chennai based Crescent Innovation Council (CIIC) with 10 MoUs and Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC),
& Incubation Council (CIIC) with 9 Bangalore with 8 MoUs.

points (stands third).  Private BioIncubators are leading the table of No of incubatees joined
in 2018-19 category with Pune based Entrepreneurship Development
Bangalore based Bangalore Center (Venture Center), attracting 78 incubatees, followed by
Bioinnovation Centre leads the Bhuvaneshwar based KIIT Technology Business Incubator with 38
BioSpectrum BioIncubator Survey in incubatees and Chennai based Crescent Innovation & Incubation
public sector followed by Hyderabad Council with 20 incubatees.
based Atal Incubation Centre (Centre
for Cellular & Molecular Biology)  Bangalore BioInnovation Centre, Bangalore with 100,000 sq ft leads the
(stands second) ASPIRE-BioNEST, table of Space made available for incubatees followed by KIIT Technology
Business Incubator, Bhubaneswar with 90,000 sq ft & Entrepreneurship
Hyderabad (stands third). Development Center (Venture Center), Pune with 34,481 sq ft.

BioSpectrum Top BioIncubators 2019* (Public)

S No Name Location Started in Total
percentage Point
1 Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre Bangalore 2015
Atal Incubation Centre 14
Hyderabad 2017
2 8
(Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology) Hyderabad 2017
Guwahati 2009 6
3 ASPIRE-BioNEST Hyderabad 2012 4
4 Guwahati Biotech Park Incubation Centre Savli (Gujarat) 2015 2
5 Technology Business Incubator- BITS Pilani 2
6 Savli Technology &Business Incubator (STBI)

* We have not covered some fo the leading BioIncubators as they have not participated in the BioSpectrum BioIncubator Survey 2019

BioSpectrum Top BioIncubators 2019* (Private)

S No Name Location Started in Total
percentage Point
1 KIIT Technology Business Incubator Bhubaneswar 2009
2 Entrepreneurship Development Center (Venture Center) Pune 2007 23
3 Crescent Innovation & Incubation Council 2019 21
Chennai 9
4 Manipal Government of Karnataka Bioincubator Manipal 2019
(Karnataka) 3

* We have not covered some fo the leading BioIncubators as they have not participated in the BioSpectrum BioIncubator Survey 2019

BIOSPECTRUM | OCTOBER 2019 | www.biospectrumindia.com BIOINCUBATORS SURVEY 35

BioSpectrum Bioincubators Survey and Methodology

BioSpectrum India, a leading B2B media platform in Lifesciences space since 2003 has re-launched
its ranking special edition in June 2019 after gap of 2 years. In this survey we looked at BioIncubators
(both private and public) spread across India based on their achievements in the past financial
year - 2018-19. A detailed questionnaire (survey form) was sent to over 41 BioIncubators to capture
the needed information for the year 2018-19 for the analysis. This was done during February 2020.
BioIncubators shared information with us to the extent it was possible by them.

# For all the ranking purposes we have taken four parameters - No. of incubatees joined, Funds raised, Space available, MoUs signed by BioIncubator with other
agencies to attract enterprises/ entrepreneurs during 2018-19. We have considered the names of the BioIncubators who have participated in the survey, as we didn’t
received the filled in forms from some of other BioIncubators.

KIIT TECHNOLOGY 01 ENTREPRENEURSHIP 02
BUSINESS INCUBATOR DEVELOPMENT CENTER
(KIIT-TBI), BHUBANESWAR (VENTURE CENTER), PUNE

KIIT Technology Business Incubator (KIIT-TBI), recipient The Venture Center in Pune is the trademark of
of National Award for TBI in 2017 is a non-profit Entrepreneurship Development Center (EDC).
Section (8) incubator established in 2009, as an Started in 2007, Venture Center offers a diverse
initiative of KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar. array of services since 2007 that are accessible to all
The incubator has established BIRAC Regional Techno- innovators and entrepreneurs. The Venture Center
Entrepreneurship Promotion Centre (BRTC) in association has also established a joint venture with BIRAC as
with BIRAC, to promote entrepreneurship and technology the BIRAC Regional Bioinnovation Center (BRBC)
development in the east and north east region of India. since 2018. A total of 78 bioincubatees joined the
KIIT-TBI 109 currently houses 79 startups and 26 individual Venture Center in the FY18-19 through all incubation
incubates within the available space of 90000 sq ft. The programmes such as Resident incubation,
incubator has the capacity to accommodate around 120 Bioincubation, Social enterprise incubation, Associate
startups in total. During the FY18-19, the incubator raised incubation, Eklavya etc. Out of 51317 sq ft space
funds worth Rs 25.45 crore, with majority funds flowing available at the campus, 34481 sq ft is available for
in through the government. For the future, the KIIT-TBI the incubation purpose. The bioincubator raised
plans to set up ten bioincubators in the states of East and around Rs 21.6 crore in the last fiscal. In addition,
Northeast by acting as mentor incubator; to establish the bioincubatee companies generated a revenue
digital healthcare and precision Agritech incubator to of Rs 14.3 crore during the FY18-19. For the future,
provide platform to the startups in digital health and Venture Center intends to scale in space, number
agritech domain; to run sectoral accelerator program in of incubatee companies, scientific facilities, advice
healthtech/life sciences domain; to set up Early Translation and mentoring facilities. In 10 years, the bioincubator
Accelerators (ETA) to provide the startups an early intends to support over 400 innovative biotech
engagement with industry and investors in the field of companies, which have cumulatively raised Rs 1000
Healthcare, agriculture, industrial biotechnology and other crore in risk capital and generated over Rs 2000 crore
important areas of biotechnology; to setting up gender in revenue. Venture Center also plans to nucleate
specific women Incubator - enabling platform to women and nurture technology and knowledge based
led startups focusing on healthcare, agriculture, food and bio-enterprises by leveraging the scientific and
nutrition, maternal and child health areas; and to enhance engineering competencies of the individuals and
cross boarder learning and engagement platform for the institutions within Pune. The incubator also plans
startups through mutual cooperation and collaboration to attract risk capital and funding into innovative
with global incubators. startups from the region.

36 BIOINCUBATORS SURVEY BIOSPECTRUM | OCTOBER 2019 | www.biospectrumindia.com

BANGALORE BIOINNOVATION 03 05ATAL INCUBATION CENTRE- CENTRE FOR
CENTRE (BBC), BENGALURU
CELLULAR & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, HYDERABAD
The Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) is
an initiative of Karnataka Biotechnology and The Atal Incubation Centre- Centre for Cellular
Information Technology Services (KBITS), & Molecular Biology (AIC-CCMB) is a premier
Department of IT, BT and S&T, Government of technology incubator supporting deep science
Karnataka with a liberal funding support from startups. Established at CSIR-CCMB, Hyderabad
Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of under the Atal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog,
India. It is located within Bangalore Helix Biotechnology Government of India in 2017, this incubation centre
Park at Electronic City, Bengaluru. Established in 2015, has become a hub for life-sciences and biotechnology
BBC houses 81 incubatees in a total space of 100,000 startups and MSME’s from all over Telangana and
sq ft. During the FY 18-19, the incubator raised funds the country in a very short time. The incubator
worth Rs 3.75 core from the government. BBC also currently has 24 startups within the campus that
signed a number of MoUs in the last fiscal namely with has the capacity to house around 40 incubatees. The
NITTE University, Mangalore; Manipal University; B.M.S. FY18-19 saw the incubator signing a number of local
College of Engineering, Bengaluru; Japan External and international MoUs with WE-HUB; Centre for
Trade Organization (JETRO) and Victorian Government, Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) at IIIT, Hyderabad;
Australia. In the future, BBC is planning expansion Genei Laboratories; AIC-IIIT Kottayam Foundation,
of agriculture, food and nutrients facilities; product Kerala; Ministry of Electronics & Information
release of incubates; technology transfer; funding Technology (MeitY); Asia Inc. 500; SoftVan; Human
opportunities and investors meet; more global and Society International India (HSI), Mumbai; Merck Life
regional linkages; and organization of many events and Science; Hello Tomorrow; Medtronic Engineering And
workshops. Innovation Center; and Ignite Innovators, Seoul, South
Korea.

CRESCENT INNOVATION & ASPIRE-BIONEST, 06
HYDERABAD
04INCUBATION COUNCIL (CIIC), CHENNAI
ASPIRE - Association for Scientific Pursuits in
Crescent Innovation & Incubation Council (CIIC) in Innovative Research Enterprises is a section-8,
Chennai has been established as a Section-8 not not-for-profit organization that manages
for profit company, acting as a “One Stop Shop – the innovation and entrepreneurial activities at the
Technology Business Incubator (TBI)” for Start-ups. CIIC University of Hyderabad (UoH) through incubation of
facilitates entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem startup companies in various disciplines of science
to all the stakeholders including the students, and technology, while BioNEST at UoH is a life
faculty, industry, investors and society at large. CIIC is sciences incubator, set-up with the support of the
recognised as one of the Incubator in Startup India Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council
Hub and Institutional Innovation Council in Ministry (BIRAC). Set up in 2017, ASPIRE-BioNEST currently
of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Innovation houses 24 incubatees within a space of 11000 sq ft
Cell (MIC). Started in 2019, CIIC has established 25,000 allotted for accommodation. During the FY18-19, the
sq ft state of the art of facility; received Rs 1.8 crore incubator raised Rs 4 crore along with signing few
BIONEST grant from BIRAC, incubated 40 startups in local and international MoUs with Tech Mahindra,
the fields of Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Medical Devices, Startup Accelerator India (SAI), Vajra Soft, New Jersey
Agriculture, Biotechnology, Edtech, Electrical Mobility State and Cornell University.
etc., received 5 seed capital grants for startups, and
signed MoUs with four European business incubators,
established linkages with Middle East & North America
Incubators. In the coming years, the incubator intends
to explore areas of pharmaceutical, healthcare, food
analysis and agritech.

BIOSPECTRUM | OCTOBER 2019 | www.biospectrumindia.com BIOINCUBATORS SURVEY 37

GUWAHATI BIOTECH PARK, 07 09TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS INCUBATOR,
GUWAHATI, ASSAM
BITS PILANI, HYDERABAD
Guwahati Biotech Park Incubation Centre
(GBPIC) which has been set up with Technology Business Incubator (TBI) BITS
financial support from the Department of Hyderabad aims to provide a low cost and
Biotechnology (DBT) in 2009, is currently functional resource intensive sandbox where entrepreneurs
from a temporary campus of 20,000 sq ft located at IIT can develop their product, services or process ideas
Guwahati. The setting up of GBPIC in the permanent towards commercialization. TBI@BITS Hyderabad
site of Guwahati Biotech Park is in progress and is provides office and lab space equipment, seed
envisaged to be completed by 2020 which shall be funding and vitally, mentorship from an international
a total incubation area of around 1,00,000 sq ft. At network of successful business leaders. Established
present, there are 8 incubatees situated within the in 2012, the bioincubator has 6 companies on board
park. In the FY18-19, a total of Rs 52 lakh was raised by within a space of 10,000 sq ft. During the FY18-19,
the incubator. The Business Enterprise Zone, which the incubator raised funds worth Rs 1.1 crore. For
will be the core facility of the Guwahati Biotech Park the future, the incubator plans to apply for BioNest
in the future, will serve as the space provider to large Grant BIRAC; to get animal studies and bio sample
biotech players keen on setting up manufacturing procurement; and to work on clinical research and
or research facilities on long term lease basis. The validation for startups.
development work of the Business Enterprise Zone is
in progress.

SAVLI TECHNOLOGY & BUSINESS 10
INCUBATOR (STBI), SAVLI, GUJARAT

MANIPAL GOVERNMENT OF Savli Technology & Business Incubator (STBI) is
set up within the industrial estate of Vadodara
08KARNATAKA BIOINCUBATOR, MANIPAL with the vision to nurture startups economy
by facilitating support to budding entrepreneurs
Manipal - Government of Karnataka thereby contributing towards strengthening the
Bioincubator, Technology Business Incubator, nation. Established in 2015, it is spread across a
is an initiative by Manipal Academy of space of 15000 sq ft with around 5000 sq ft available
Higher Education (MAHE) and the Government of for incubation purpose. Currently, the incubator
Karnataka to facilitate incubation of startups. Set up has housed 10 incubatees within its campus which
in 2019, this incubation platform aims at upscaling can accommodate around 21 incubatees. During
innovations specializing in technology, propelling the FY18-18, STBI raised approximately Rs 1.1 crore
innovative ideas towards product commercialization. worth funding. For the future, the incubator plans
At present, the bioincubator is housing 6 companies to increase the incubation spaces for life sciences/
in the available space of 7500 sq ft. In the last one biosciences/ healthcare startups and to have more
year, the bioincubator has raised Rs 2.38 crore worth strategic collaborations with other stakeholders of the
funds, out of which Rs 2.23 crore was raised through ecosystem.
the government, while Rs 15 lakhs came in through
private source. For the future, the bioincubator plans
to enroll and support at least 12 technology based
startups by 2021. It also plans to collaborate with
BIRAC and create a BioNEST facility which would
include a Fablab. The proposed state of the art
facility will be designed to support the research and
development of technology based startups.

38 WORLD KIDNEY DAY BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

Pursuit to replace dialysis

India is witnessing an increase in the number of patients suffering from end stage renal
disease which creates a huge demand for dialysis. As per the government report of the
National Dialysis Programme under National Health Mission released in 2018, India will
need 3.4 crore dialysis every year to suffice the need for rising cases of chronic kidney
disease (CKD) amongst patients in India.

Dysfunctional kidney predisposes the body to and future. Considering the government report of the
severe impediments including anaemia, high National Dialysis Programme under National Health
blood pressure, nerve damage, furthermore Mission released in 2018, India will need 3.4 crore
increasing the possibility of developing acute kidney dialysis every year to suffice the need for rising cases
injury (AKI) and kidney failure, which is also known of CKD amongst patients in India. There are about
as stage five or end-stage chronic kidney disease 4950 dialysis centres in the private sector in India,
(CKD). It is a universal public health problem and which creates a heavy burden on the government and
poses a massive burden both to the affected patients stakeholders to meet the growing demand for renal
and healthcare providers. As a result, World Kidney care. The health expenditure for dialysis is about 3-4
Day is celebrated on 12th March every year to lakhs annually, which therefore leads to financial
focus on the importance of kidneys and reducing catastrophe for such patients.
the frequency and impact of kidney disease and its
associated health problems worldwide. “Dialysis is the preferred mode in Mumbai at
least as it is a cheaper option in the short term, and
According to a study conducted by Hyderabad is easily available. The challenges associated are the
based Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), travelling time in our city, need for another person to
India is expected to hold the 5th position on account accompany the patient, and loss of working hours for
of deaths associated with kidney both of them. The demand is much more than supply
diseases. Dr Haresh Dodeja, and so getting the preferred slots to suit your work
Consultant Nephrologist life is very difficult”, adds Dr Haresh Dodeja.
and Transplant Physician,
Fortis Hospital, Mumbai Industry Leads
says, “The approximate
prevalence of CKD in India is 800 The industry understands the need of the hour and is
per million people. The approximate thus coming up with innovative solutions to address
incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is 150 the up surging demand for dialysis based renal
per million people, and the most common causes are treatment. In January 2019, Bengaluru based Aster
diabetes and hypertension”. Hospital launched one of its kind of dialysis day care
centre. “For patients suffering from end stage kidney
Presently, there are only two treatment options disease, lack of adequate dialysis centres have always
available for the kidney diseases i.e. kidney been the pain point. By providing these services
transplantation and dialysis. Dialysis still remains locally, we are confident that such patients will
a major preference amongst patients in contrast to benefit from the accessible, affordable, timely and
kidney transplantation due to potential mismatch quality care. The launch of this new
of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) between donor centre will also enable us to treat
and recipient. This creates a key tension amongst patients coming to the facility
the patient pool as the stake is much higher for graft in an efficient way and make
rejection in transplant therapy. Even though dialysis them feel at home”, mentions
is the preferred choice of treatment, only 10 per cent Dr Vidya Shankar P, Lead
patients are getting dialysis, while the remaining Consultant, Nephrology,
patient population are cut out due to high cost and Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru.
less accessibility in untapped rural area.
In September 2019, Virinchi Hospital in
India is witnessing an increasing number of Hyderabad announced a collaboration with New York
patients suffering from end stage renal disease which based Renal Research Institute to develop a novel,
creates a huge demand for dialysis in the present year inexpensive treatment for terminal kidney failure

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com WORLD KIDNEY DAY 39

in the form of allo-hemodialysis device (alloHD). It health systems and policy experts.
acts as a novel dialytic renal replacement therapy Commending the recent move by the government,
(RRT) modality where the patient’s blood flows in
the dialyzer counter-current to the blood of a healthy Dr Rushee Deshpande,
subject (buddy). Fluid and toxins transferred from Director, Nephrology Jaslok
the patient to the buddy are excreted by the buddy’s Hospital, Mumbai states,
healthy kidneys. AlloHD offers reduced technical “The new guidelines released
and logistics complexities compared to current by the government is beneficial
renal replacement technologies, which considerably to a large segment of patient
squeezes down the costs of dialysis to underprivileged population as majority of patient
population. pool cannot afford dialysis. With
the availability of peritoneal dialysis at home there
Hyderabad based NephroPlus is another is no need of a regulated infrastructure and trained
promising player in this space that provides quality medical professional thereby cutting the cost for
dialysis at affordable prices by using standardized hospital admission and manpower.”
protocols, continuous training and focused
innovations. NephroPlus generated a strong buzz in With an anticipation to find a replacement for
November 2019 when it raised Rs 323 crore from dialysis and transplantation, there has been a major
Bahrain based private equity player, Investcorp. emphasis on R&D activity for the development of
Currently, the company is aiming to grow momentum novel products like implantable kidney device already
by expanding to 40 centres every happening in the west. Updating on the latest trends
year through its high quality in renal care space, Dr Suresh Sankar mentions,
but cost-effective models. Dr “There are innovations in vascular access with less
Suresh Sankar, Senior Vice invasiveness which is a reality in the west. The
President, Clinical Affairs, evidence to position Hemodiafiltration appropriately
Nephroplus says, “We are part as a modality for chronic haemodialysis is a process
of large tertiary care hospitals in all in evolution. Wearable artificial kidney are in human
4 major metros with JCI and NABH trials while implantable artificial kidney is still in
accreditation, secondary care in tier 1 to 3 cities, free a preliminary phase. Novel treatment of anaemia
standing dialysis centres and also have significant in dialysis patients will be reality by 2022, barring
presence in PPP centres, have partnership with surprise in research.”
non-profit sector. We operate in and understand the
breadth and depth of the healthcare delivery context India still lags behind when it comes to innovation
in India.” to develop technologically advanced solutions for
CKD patients. The pursuit for current replacement
Initiatives by Government for dialysis is still a matter of concern amongst
the stakeholders in India. However, the Indian
The government is not far behind when it comes to government and healthcare industry has been playing
providing better healthcare facilities to the kidney an active role in the past years to make renal care
patients. In a recent announcement in October 2019, more accessible and affordable amongst the CKD
the government released new guidelines for the patients, and hopefully will continue do so.
peritoneal dialysis (PD) services to patients suffering
from kidney diseases at their home. The guidelines is Jyoti Pandey
under Pradhanmantri National Dialysis Programme [email protected]
(PMNDP) which was launched in 2016 to provide free
dialysis care to the patients’ particularly in district
hospitals. PD is a key strategy for renal replacement
intended for patients suffering from end-stage renal
disease. PD offers better renal care as compared to
other in-center hemodialysis.

Development of these guidelines involved a
consultative process that was coordinated by the
National Health Systems Resource Centre and
an Expert Committee that was chaired by Prof
Vivekanand Jha, Executive Director of the George
Institute for Global Health, India and included
nephrologists from around the country, as well as

40 SPEAKING WITH BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

“Work is underway
in engaging Indian
startups at Basel”

« Krishna Bhatia, Chief Representative India, BaselArea.swiss

The Basel region in Switzerland is one of the income tax rate of around 11.03 per cent. With such
world’s most important centres of the life attractive tax rates, a multilingual and international
sciences industry. Roche and Novartis, two of workforce, and liberal labour laws it has the location
the five leading global pharmaceutical companies, benefits that matter to succeed in a global market.
have their origins and global headquarters in Basel.
There are around 700 life sciences companies and Krishna Bhatia- We have seen a
biotech startups in the region. In addition, some lot of traction from Indian
first-class research institutions go to cement the companies especially in 2019 which
reputation of Basel as a leading life sciences hub. was mainly due to the tax reforms.
This dense academic and industrial setting and We have witnessed an increase in
the availability of venture capital also provide the the number of Indian companies visiting the Basel
ideal hotbed for the creation of new companies. Area along with increased consultation sessions.
BioSpectrum interacted with the representatives And we had two settlements. Also, we have renewed
from BaselArea.swiss- Anke Hollnagel, Director our focus on India by targeting Phase II & Phase III
Asia and Krishna Bhatia, Chief Representative companies in 2019 & 2020 and help them grow in
India, at the recently held BioAsia 2020 event in Europe.
Hyderabad. Edited excerpts;
Is there an increase in the number of Indian
How did 2019 go for the Basel Area for its companies doing business in Basel since
Life Sciences business, especially with 2018, in the life sciences space?
respect to Indian companies?
Krishna Bhatia- The life sciences industry in
Anke Hollnagel- The efforts of India is witnessing a major transformation owing to
BaselArea.swiss proved extremely demographic, regulatory and technological changes.
successful and we saw a good influx Complex generics and biosimilars will be the key
of companies moving to the Basel growth drivers. In addition, digitalization of the life
Area. The interest in the Basel sciences industry has in turn changed its landscape.
region as a business location was also reflected in So, this changing trend has been visible among
over 570 consultation sessions in Switzerland and the interest we receive from Indian companies,
abroad and the 90 visits to the Basel Area made by especially in 2019 and in the beginning of this year.
investors and company delegations that were There are numerous companies in the areas of IoT,
organised by BaselArea.swiss. In addition, there was AI and Machine Learning who are keen on exploring
this much anticipated tax reform under which Basel for serving the healthcare & life sciences
corporate income tax has been reduced to 13 per industry. This marks a drastic shift from the
cent, and capital tax to 0.1 per cent. Also, traditional Indian pharmaceutical companies. So,
introduction of a patent box with a maximum relief overall even though there has not been a significant
of 90 per cent can lead to an effective corporate change in the number of Indian companies doing
business in the Basel Area, but the profile of the
companies is changing and this is expected to pick

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com SPEAKING WITH 41

up in the coming years as India market gets more rankings, Basel was ranked among the top ten
matured. cities for the first time, taking eighth place in the
process. Our Innovation team which runs the
Anke Hollnagel- The existing Indian startup accelerator, DayOne have been active in
companies in the Basel Area have been prospering involving digital health startups over the globe and
at a rapid phase. For example, Dr. Reddy’s which connecting them to the ecosystem.
has a strong presence in Basel, plans to expand their
current operations in Basel. In our cluster, around Krishna Bhatia- BaselArea.swiss has
20 Indian life sciences companies are already experience in working with Indian startups.
present. During our accelerator outreach, we have received
applications from India and assisted several young
How is the innovation ecosystem developing companies with founders who have Indian heritage.
in the Basel Area in this sector? Do you Namely Roy Chikballapur from MachIQ and also
foresee any challenges? Anil Kumar from Alibion. With respect to Indian
startups though, there is still work underway in
Krishna Bhatia- Next to the pharma giants engaging them even more into the Basel ecosystem.
like Roche and Novartis, there are around 700
life science companies including many promising How does the future look like for Basel
startups in Basel and more than 1000 research in the Life Sciences space? Are there any
groups. Basel Area is a thriving place for innovative specific developments you are looking
companies and startups and it maintains its forward to?
position. The challenge we see here is in finding
the right Indian innovative startups to settle here. Anke Hollnagel- In the Basel Area, there are
For this, we have collaborated with various active over 33,000 people working in the life sciences
startup incubators and accelerators in India, who space. The value-added contribution from research
can help us with the outreach process. and development totalled 62.1 billion Francs,
equating to 9.3 per cent of overall swiss GDP.
Anke Hollnagel- In order to facilitate and The Basel and Swiss pharmaceutical industries
further grow our innovative ecosystem Switzerland are planning to maintain their contributions to
Innovation Park Basel Area has been established, the prosperity and well-being of Swiss citizens
which acts as a catalyst for innovation and progress over the coming years. This is demonstrated by
– connecting, supporting and engaging people the investments committed by the life sciences
with ideas and passion in biotech, medtech, digital companies which is only in Basel around 6 billion
health, and healthtech. We at BaselArea.swiss Swiss Francs. Roche, for instance, is in the process
manage the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area, of renewing sites in the region. By 2023, the
which is an infrastructure park featuring offices and company will have invested 3 billion Swiss Francs
private or shared labs, as well as common spaces into their infrastructure.
mainly to support innovative companies in biotech,
medtech, digital health, and healthtech. Residents Krishna Bhatia- Last year, we already saw
receive access to an innovative and cutting-edge a growth of companies from abroad active in
infrastructure and equipment as well as a broad set the personalized and digital healthcare space.
of startup services, programmes and accelerators. And this year, for the fifth time in a row, we are
The innovation park will open soon an additional hosting Europe’s flagship event BioData World
location on the Novartis Campus, focusing on digital Congress in November 2020 thereby bringing
health on an area of 500 square meters. It will offer together hundreds of experts. Another interesting
the perfect breeding ground for companies wanting development is that R&D done in Basel is
to collaborate with Novartis on innovation. contributing specifically to the field of paediatrics.
There has been numerous research projects
How are the Indian startups faring at Basel? supported by the The Botnar Research Center for
Child Health in Basel. One project features an app
Anke Hollnagel- Overall, startups established with a digital medical system that can support the
in Basel raised more than 200 million euro in wellbeing of infants and young children growing up
investments during the first half of 2019. Basel in rural areas of low-and middle-income countries.
therefore leads the way in this regard within Such projects will be attractive in the Indian
Switzerland, and stands in eighth place across perspective and we are working to promote this in
Europe. Investments in Switzerland increased the Indian startup field.
by over 50 per cent, and in Basel in particular.
While a total of 592 million euro in investments Dr Manbeena Chawla
secures fifth place for Switzerland in the European [email protected]



ReBquulkest

44 R&D NEWS BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

NCCS paves way for IITM uses
treating neuro conditions AI to
transform
A research group at the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune brain
has for the first time identified the precise units of the proteins primarily signals
belonging to a family called the regulators of complement activation
(RCA) that are responsible for their regulatory function, thus revealing Researchers at the Indian
that functional modularity exists in these proteins. The regulatory Institute of Technology
mechanisms are linked to several diseases, including Alzheimer’s, stroke, (IIT) Madras have
age-related macular degeneration, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and developed an Artificial
cancer. The members of the family work to prevent damage to cells of the Intelligence (AI)
host by its own complement system through two mechanisms called decay technology to convert
accelerating activity (DAA) and cofactor activity (CFA). The researchers brain signals of speech
have found that it is possible to artificially link the identified functional impaired humans into
domains of the proteins responsible for the DAA and CFA, to create a language. Brain signals
molecule with both these activities combined, which they have named are typically electrical
decay-cofactor protein (DCP). This further strengthens the promise shown signals. These are wave-
by DCP as a potential therapeutic lead molecule. like patterns with spikes,
humps and crusts which
IITD designs one stop can be converted into
destination for OTC medicines simple human language
- meaning speech using
AI and Deep Learning
algorithms. This enabled
the researchers to read
direct electrical signals of
the brain. The researchers
are now working on how
to decode and interpret
these real data signals into
a simple human language
such as English which
can be understood by all
human beings.

Better Health Technologies India, the-counter (OTC) medicines,
incubated at the Indian Institute hygiene products for women and
of Technology (IIT) Delhi has some healthy snacks. The startup
designed India’s first of its kind plans to install the first machine
smart technology driven product this year, with the intention
Med-Genie- a multi-dimensional to plant around 100 machines
platform that can provide over- by the end of the year at some
vital places. The machine has
13 compartments of which 8 are
for OTC / Ayurvedic medicines,
2 for sanitary pads and 3 for
health snacks like protein bars.
There is a tablet with built in user
interface so that people could
easily use the machine and make
digital payments through PayTM.

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com ACADEMIC NEWS 45

UoH conducts IITD inks MoU with Norway
workshop on
grant writing With an aim of recognising the mutual benefits to be
gained through a cooperative programme promoting
ASPIRE-BioNEST at the University of scholarly activities and international understanding,
Hyderabad (UoH) in support with the UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Indian
Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Institute of
Council (BIRAC) conducted a workshop on Technology (IIT)
grant writing. Experts from BIRAC presented Delhi have signed
and demonstrated few case studies on how a Memorandum
to write grant applications for the funding of Understanding
available from BIRAC in life sciences. This (MoU) recently.
workshop was intended to bring clarity and Both the
necessary elements required during grant institutions have
writing to the aspiring applicants belonging to agreed to the
the industry, academia, research institutes etc. development
of collaborative
research and
educational
projects; organise
joint academic
and scientific
activities, such as
courses, conferences, seminars, symposia or lectures;
joint cultural and educational endeavours; field and
laboratory work in the sphere of both partners’ interest.

46 PEOPLE NEWS BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

Dr Raman Rao takes Dr Maharaj Kishan
charge as Hilleman CEO Bhan passes
away at 72
The Board of Directors of Hilleman Laboratories has
announced that Dr Davinder Gill has left his current role as Dr Maharaj Kishan Bhan, former
CEO of Hilleman Laboratories on 31 January 2020, after more
Secretary of Department of
than eight years at the company. Dr
Gill is relocating to the United States Biotechnology (DBT), Indian
where his family is based. He will
be replaced by Dr Raman Rao, who pediatrician and clinical scientist,
has assumed the role as CEO on 1
February. Dr Rao has more than 22 passed away on January 26, 2020, due
years’ experience in research and
development, manufacturing and to his unsuccessful battle with cancer
commercialisation of vaccines for
infectious diseases, and is joining for several months. Dr MK Bhan was
from Takeda Vaccines where he
was Vice President of Global Product Operations. Dr Gill a National Science Professor at the
joined Hilleman in 2012 after two decades in the global
pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi,

Dr Vas (Vasant) Narasimhan Government of India, President of
receives excellence award
JIPMER and an Advisor to the World
BioAsia2020, Asia’s largest annual global biotechnology
and life sciences forum organized by the Government of Health Organization. As Secretary, DBT
Telangana, bestowed the prestigious Genome Valley Excellence
Award on Dr Vas (Vasant) Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis for for ten years, he played a key role in the
inspiring the world with the
bold new vision to reimagine establishment of many new Institutes,
the pharmaceutical business
including embracing digital clusters and innovation support
technology and transforming
healthcare. He has done agencies in order to transform of the
extensive work on a range of
public health issues particularly biotechnology sector in the country. Dr
in developing countries and
exemplary work in development Bhan is the man behind the development
of over 20 novel medicines,
including advances cell and gene of India’s rotavirus vaccine in
therapies as well as vaccines. Dr
Narasimhan, popularly known association with Bharat Biotech. He has
as Vas Narasimhan, is the CEO
of a global pharmaceutical provided guidelines for the use of zinc
company Novartis. He is an
Indian American Physician as treatment of diarrhea, and delivered
and has led a strategic and
cultural transformation at Novartis to build a leading medicines advocacy and leadership roles in several
company globally powered by advanced therapy platforms and
data science. Dr Narasimhan joined Novartis in 2005 and he other research endeavors including
served as the Global Head of Development before he assumed
charge of CEO of the company in 2017. low osmolarity ORS, identification of

enteroaggregative E. coli, its association

with persistent diarrhea in children and

treatment approaches to this disorder.

Besides many awards like National

Ranbaxy Award in 1990 Padmabhushan

for civil services in 2013, Pollin Prize

for Pediatric Research in 2003, Dr

Bhan was recipient of the BioSpectrum

Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com SUPPLIER NEWS 47

Thermo Fisher unveils Azelis India
new NGS based solution increases presence
in pharma market
Thermo Fisher Scientific has introduced a new next-
generation sequencing (NGS)-based solution that enables Azelis, a leading distributor of specialty
reproductive health researchers to more efficiently chemicals and food ingredients, is delighted
analyze a broad range of key genetic markers with an to announce it will acquire 100 per cent
end-to-end workflow. The Ion Torrent CarrierSeq ECS of the distribution and Indent business of
Kit for the Ion GeneStudio S5 System consolidates a S. Zhaveri Pharmakem Pvt Ltd, an Indian
multi-platform approach to expanded carrier screening specialty distributor for the pharmaceutical
(ECS) into a single solution that extends the company’s industry. Founded in 1951 and headquartered
reproductive health research portfolio, which includes in Mumbai, the company has a very good
tools for prenatal, postnatal, invitro fertilization and reputation in the pharmaceutical sector
newborn screening analysis. The CarrierSeq ECS Kit in India, serving reputable international
consists of a 420-gene, AmpliSeq-based panel that and domestic principals. The acquisition
combines many stand-alone tests into a single assay, of S. Zhaveri’s distribution business
including difficult-to-sequence genes, such as SMN1 and will significantly increase Azelis India’s
SMN2 for spinal muscular atrophy, GBA for Gaucher presence in the Indian market and will give
disease, CYP21A2 for 21-hydroxylase deficient congenital it a significant footprint in the fast-growing
adrenal hyperplasia, and HBA1 and HBA2 for alpha Indian pharmaceutical market. As one of
thalassemia. The kit detects more than 28,000 non- the largest producers of pharmaceuticals in
benign ClinVar variants, including both single nucleotide the world and with a foreseen strong growth
variants (SNVs) and copy number variants (CNVs), and trajectory, India is very important for Azelis’
contains optimized reagents and a customizable Carrier pharma expansion in the region and globally.
Reporter Software for data analysis and reporting.

Merck launches BrightLab cloud hosted software

Merck has introduced its via application programming need for manual transcription.
interface and Internet of Things It saves researchers hours of
BrightLab cloud-based inventory (IoT) integrations, avoiding the unnecessary review, allowing for

management and instrument more time at the bench. The
platform also automates
connectivity platform for workflows and produces a
secure, searchable archive of
research scientists. The reports. All information on
the cloud is accessible to only
new software includes an
to designated users since
electronic lab notebook, the platform is designed
with Secure Sockets Layer
which allows scientists and (SSL) encryption and
provides data integrity
lab managers to track and
with audit trails and
update experiments from any regular backups built in.

computer or mobile device.

Recognizing the increasing

demand for data automation,

Merck’s BrightLab

software connects lab

instruments to the cloud

48 SUPPLIER NEWS BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

Eurofins acquires assets Agilent
of Gomti Life Sciences
introduces
Eurofins, through Eurofins Advinus, 8 clean rooms and a total reactor
has acquired all assets of Bengaluru capacity of about 45 KL. With this SureSelect
based Gomti Life Sciences Private acquisition, Eurofins Advinus will
Limited through a Business Transfer be able to manufacture RSMs, DNA kit
Agreement. The assets include intermediates, APIs and NCEs. The
a fully equipped state-of-the-art company can now support drug Agilent Technologies
manufacturing facility located in substance requirements from multi- Inc. has introduced
Bidadi Industrial Area, Bengaluru, kilogram to MT scale for Toxicology a new product
India, with cGMP pilot plant, studies, clinical trials and launch designed to address
intermediate area and ISO class quantities. key challenges
that laboratories
SCHOTT increases encounter when
investments in India preparing DNA
sequencing libraries
After getting off to a good start in output by mid-2020. SCHOTT has for their research.
the first three months of its new committed additional investments The new Agilent
fiscal year, Germany headquartered of EUR 28 million for another tank SureSelect XT HS2
SCHOTT AG expects sales to facility which will be operational DNA Kit aims at
increase by between 3 and 6 per this year. With the new production offering researchers
cent for the year as a whole. The facility, the plant’s capacity will a complete solution
technology group expects impetus be doubled, allowing the group that allows them to
to come, among other areas, from to produce its highly specialised choose workflow
demand for specialty glass for FIOLAX tubing material for both options that best
pharmaceutical packaging and domestic and export demands. suit their needs.
ultra-thin glass for the foldable The kit has the
mobile devices of the future. In this ability to multiplex
fiscal, SCHOTT plans to invest EUR hundreds of samples
320 million, the highest amount in one sequencing
in the company’s history. Main run, which reduces
international focus will remain sequencing costs
on capacity expansions in the for high-throughput
pharmaceutical packaging business labs. It offers other
in India and China. To achieve advantages such as
this, the expansion of production the ability to remove
capacity in the existing India plant sample contamination
aims to further strengthen its as a result of index
hopping from
reads; better error
correction to detect
variants with low
allele frequencies
(particularly
important in cancer
applications where
the samples are often
of varying tumor
purity); the option
to purchase Solid
Phase Reversible
Immobilization
(SPRI) beads and
streptavidin beads as
part of a complete kit.

BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com DIGITAL INSIGHT 49

CCPA and pharma marketers

The CCPA, what it entails, how pharma marketers might be affected,
and what they can do to prepare for the law’s 2020 implementation.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the data-collection and use practices of companies
enacted in 2018, creates new consumer rights collecting their personal information. This law may
relating to the access to, deletion of, and sharing affect any company doing business in the state of
of personal information that is collected by businesses. California, regardless of whether the company is
It also requires the Attorney General to solicit broad physically located in the state. The CCPA goes into
public participation and adopt regulations to further effect in January 2020 and will make it easier for
the CCPA’s purposes. consumers to sue companies after a data breach. And
it gives California’s attorney general more authority
The proposed regulations would establish to hold accountable companies that don’t comply. If
procedures to facilitate consumers’ new rights under violations aren’t addressed within 30 days, “violators
the CCPA and provide guidance to businesses for how might face penalties of not more than $2,500 for each
to comply. The Attorney General cannot bring an violation, or $7,500 for each intentional violation.”
enforcement action under the CCPA until July 1, 2020. California was the first state to pass a data-breach
notification law; now all 50 states have one. It’s been
Concerns about data privacy said that California leads the way for the rest of the
United States in many regards — e.g., environmental
Concerns about data privacy abound as we head into protections, social and political movements, tech
the final quarter of 2018. Large-scale data breaches at innovation — and it likely will lead with data privacy
hospitals, banks, retailers, and other organizations — protections as more states follow suit and either shore
and on social media platforms like Facebook — have up or create their own data privacy laws.
most Americans, including lawmakers, thinking about
how best to protect their personal information. Implications for Pharma

On June 28, 2018, California’s governor signed The CCPA is more targeted than the European Union’s
into law the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA),
which gives California residents greater control over

50 DIGITAL INSIGHT BIOSPECTRUM | MARCH 2020 | www.biospectrumindia.com

CCPA applies to certain businesses

 Businesses are subject to the CCPA if one or more of the following are true:
 Has gross annual revenues in excess of $25 million;
 Buys, receives, or sells the personal information of 50,000 or more consumers, households, or devices;
o Derives 50 percent or more of annual revenues from selling consumers’ personal information.
 As proposed by the draft regulations, businesses that handle the personal information of more than 4
million consumers will have additional obligations.

CCPA and GDPR

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the European Union’s General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR) are separate legal frameworks with different scopes, definitions, and requirements. A
business that complies with GDPR and is subject to CCPA may have additional obligations under CCPA.

 For example, under GDPR, companies must undertake a data inventory and mapping of data flows in
furtherance of creating records to demonstrate compliance. Additional data mapping may be important to
reflect the different requirements under CCPA.

 Under GDPR, companies must develop processes and/or systems to respond to individual requests
for access to personal information and for erasure of personal information. These processes and/or systems
may be applied to handling CCPA consumer requests, although businesses may need to review and reconcile
the different definitions of personal information and applicable rules on verification of consumer requests.

 Under GDPR, companies must disclose data privacy practices in a privacy policy. CCPA also requires
companies to disclose specific business practices in a comprehensive privacy policy. Many California
companies that operate commercial websites and online services must post a privacy policy under the
California Online Privacy Protection Policy, or CalOPPA, and will need to update this policy for CCPA.

 Under GDPR, companies must draft and execute written contracts with its service providers
(“processors”). Companies may need to review these contracts to reflect requirements under CCPA.

Cost estimates for CCPA compliance

 According to estimates in the Standardized Regulatory Impact Assessment for the CCPA regulations,
the CCPA will protect over $12 billion worth of personal information that is used for advertising in California
each year.

 Preliminary estimates suggest a total of $467 million to $16,454 million in costs to comply with the
draft regulation, if finalized, during the period 2020-2030.

Source: https://oag.ca.gov/

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in that it original law did not address clinical trials.” In other
focuses on consumer rights surrounding data at the words, if the amendment is approved, the CCPA will
point of collection. Unlike Amazon, with its acquisition not apply to data already regulated by federal policy,
of PillPack and the unprecedented access to personal as long as the clinical trial is conducted under clinical
health information it brings, most pharmaceutical practice guidelines.
companies may find that the CCPA affects them less
than other businesses. Conclusion

Of note for pharma marketers, California The CCPA gives consumers a whole new level of control
lawmakers have already amended the CCPA, over their personal information. As concerns over data
particularly with regard to two areas: security and privacy grow, it’s likely that other states
will follow California’s example and create or expand
01. Clarification of the definition of personal their own privacy protections. While the pharma
information, to make it less broad industry may be less affected by the CCPA than other
types of businesses, preparing for compliance is still
02. An exemption for clinical trials recommended. Reach out to your account team today
According to the International Association of Privacy to make sure your brand is covered.
Professionals (IAPP), “The bill also addresses clinical
trials, exempting certain information. The new clinical Ankit Kankar
trial exemption apples [sic] to data from trials that (i) [email protected]
are subject to the so-called “Common Rule” (Federal Manager- Product & Strategic Communications
Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects), and (ii)
follow certain leading clinical practice guidelines. This Follow our tweets On
provision is a new substantive exemption since the @Asiabiospectrum and @Bsi_social