Covishield vials at Serum Institute of India’s Pune campus; (Photo: Getty Images)
heyOn the eve of Independence Day this year, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute had some good news to share. He developed the first made-in-India 3D-printed human cornea in collaboration with the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology and IIT Hyderabad, which can be an affordable solution for corneal blindness.
This synergy between public and private entities shows how far India has come in the field of biotechnology since the first biotech firm, Biocon, was started in 1978. Eight years later, a dedicated Department of Biotechnology (DBT) was established at a time when very few people were working in biology.
DBT used the early years to develop skilled human resources from across multiple science and technical grades, build infrastructure, promote R&D and lay the groundwork for a regulatory framework for the sunrise sector. Therefore, DBT is now at the forefront of enabling cutting-edge research and innovation, with an emphasis on translational research. It came up with a National Biotechnology Development Strategy (NBDS) in 2007, with the aim of “creating harmonization and linkages between disciplines”. NBDS-II (2015-20) aims to make India a world-class bio manufacturing hub and become a $100 billion sector by 2025 through four missions of health, food and nutrition, clean energy and education.
While pharma, industry, agriculture, infotech and services remain the focus areas for the biotech, India’s emergence as a major vaccine-maker globally has made it a leader in the supply of DPT, BCG, measles and COVID vaccines . We are also a leader in biosimilars, an industry that is projected to reach $12 billion by 2025. India is also strong in bioservices, and is now home to most FDA-approved plants outside the US.
