Leading Asia-Pacific Biotech meet on June 7

Bangalore, Jun 4: Growing in size and strength every year, the premier Biotech event of the country, Bangalore Bio 2007 will kick off here on June seven with over 150 companies from 12 countries participating in the much sought after event of the Asia Pacific region.

The three day show to be inaugurated by Finance Miniter P Chidambaram will showcase globally the increasing biotech strength of the country. As many as eleven states would have presence in the event for which Chhattisgarh is the partner state. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh would be participating in the final day event.

The event would see a innovative industrial trail programme during which delegations and business visitors would have an opportunity to visit biotech industries in the state and scout for partnerships. As many as 30 companies have registered for this, State IT and BT secretary M N Vidyashankar said at a press conference here today.

Australian State of Victoria would be present with an intense agenda to promote their state's biotech capabilities and facilities, he said adding that more than 141 biotech companies in Victoria were looking for Indian partners both for collaborative ventures and investment.

As many as 85 speakers would be giving lectures at the three day conference to be held concurrently with the trade show.

Karnataka Biotechnology vision group chairperson and Biocon chairman Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said that the Biotech industry was growing at a brisk pace of 40 per cent annually and several multinationals were looking to India for future growth. in Clinical reearch the country was gaining ground and the country was the scene of action for as manyas 20 drug trials last year. The scope was much more, she added.

Mr Vidyashankar said the new biotech policy of the state would be announced during the inauguration of the first phase of Biotech park in a couple of months. The park was fast coming up at the electronics city in a 106 acre site. while six acres would be involved in the first phase the balance would be covered during the second and third phase to be taken up by US based Alexanderia, a leading company that had built 147 biotech parks across the US. He said for the first time the company was venturing outside the US. It was expected that abut 120 companies could come up in the proposed biotech park.

UNI