Indo pak biotech business

Indian companies are sitting up to take notice of the potential Pakistan market holds. And Pakistanis are tired of paying a price as high as seven times are looking for alternative suppliers for several vaccines, diagnostic kits and other bio-industrial products. A lot of ground has been covered since Dr Anwar Nasim acknowledged India as a viable option at the recently concluded BioAsia 2004 in Hyderabad early this year. The Chairman of Pakistan’s National Commission of Biotechnology, Dr Nasim who had led the Pakistan delegation to India, is now back home spearheading the case for cooperation in biotechnology.


Government-to-Government cooperation works out to a slow process,. In spite that—of the nine Asian nations that signed the declaration for formation of Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA)—Pakistan has moved the fastest. However, even with five MoUs in town and two of them in the private sector the tangible progress will be visible only towards the end of this year, believes Dr BS Bajaj, Chair of AIBA, southern chapter.

"Complex technology transfers are not under consideration for Indian Immunologicals. We have been talking to the Amson Consultant Ghani exploring the opportunity to cater to human rabies vaccine demand in Pakistan. In sourcing from India, there is a clear price advantage for Pakistan.

An almost non-existent pharma and biotechnology industry in Pakistan makes available the whole range of win-win collaboration opportunities. While AIBA is helping Pakistan to set-up its biotech association, Hyderabad-based Magene Life Sciences is making progress on providing training in tune with the training and technology sharing MoU the company signed during BioAsia. Two-year-old Magene specializes in basic biology research in areas such as in-vitro cell based assay development. The company has recently added training to its list of activities in order to fill an industry-academia gap.

Biotechnology in India is one of the most rapidly growing knowledge-based sectors.

Biotechnology is considered to be a quickly emerging and far-reaching technology. It's a branch of science that plays a major role in the development and growth of India. Biotechnology refers to any technological application that uses biological systems and forms in a governable manner, to not only produce new and useful processes or products but also modify the existing ones. It benefits both mankind and other life forms, such as micro organisms. Besides, biotechnology helps maintain an optimum ecological balance by lowering the amount of hydrocarbons and controlling pollution.
Biotechnology in India is one of the most rapidly growing knowledge-based sectors. Today, it's being increasingly used to design and develop unique, improved varieties of pharmaceutical products, crops, fertilizers, processed foods, a plethora of chemicals, cosmetics, growth enhancers, health care aids, and environment-related substances. The biotech segment in India has been making fast strides on the world platform. India is currently producing and marketing many therapeutic biotech drugs and vaccines. From 2005–2006, the Indian biotech sector recorded an impressive revenue of approximately US$ 1.07 billion and registered a 36.55% growth.
India has diverse biological resources. Biotechnology offers opportunities to convert these resources into employment opportunities and economic wealth. Several factors create an impetus for India to produce excellent capabilities in the domain of biotechnology. These factors include a strong pool of scientists and engineers, a large reservoir of scientific human resources, affordable manufacturing capabilities, numerous medical colleges, educational and training institutes providing diplomas and degrees in biotechnology, a large number of national research laboratories engaging thousands of scientists, fast developing clinical capabilities, and a vibrant drugs and pharmaceutical industry.

Biotech drugs to replace chemical entities Lipitor & Plavix as market leaders

The global order of blockbusters may soon be heading for a major upheaval with Biotechnology drugs toppling the present market leaders, Pfizer’s Lipitor and Sanofi’s Plavix-—both chemical entities.

With the emerging trend of biotechnology drugs cornering the top slots as against chemical entities, domestic pharma companies are now trying to cash in on the $60-billion-plus opportunity. Biotech drugs, also called biologics , are manufactured using live organisms, as against conventional medicines which are based on chemical compositions.

While some companies such as Dr Reddy’s , Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Biocon have fast-tracked their research in biosimilars (off-patent biotech drugs), others like Cipla have tied up with Chinese companies to make a foray in the highly complex but fast-growing segment. Analysts say that by 2014, in the first-ever instance of a biologic drug topping the list, Roche’s Avastin, a monoclonal antibody for treatment of cancer with global sales of nearly $9 billion, will ease out Pfizer’s anti-cholesterol blockbuster Lipitor—the largest selling drug (chemical entity) which nets $12 billion annually at present.

In fact, by 2014 at least six of the 10 top-selling drugs sold globally are tipped to be injectable biotech drugs, mainly for treating cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, compared to five in 2008 and just one in 2000.

Other biologics include blood/plasma products, cultured cells and tissues, gene therapy products, all recombinant proteins, (monoclonal ) antibodies and vaccines.

Anti-cancer antibodies, in particular, look set to become the most valuable therapeutic class, justifying a large proportion of Roche’s move to acquire its US biotech affiliate Genentech. Over the last couple of years, there have been several deals by MNCs to acquire biotech assets to augment their biologics portfolio, like Pfizer’s acquisition of Wyeth , and the Merck-Schering Plough deal.

Experts say that the growing commercial dominance of biologics globally presents an opportunity for domestic companies. Says Sujay Shetty, India pharma leader, PwC: “Even though domestic companies cannot export to developed markets like the US and UK due to complex regulatory pathways , there is a big addressable opportunity of biotech products for the domestic market. The domestic (biotech ) market, including vaccines is not even a billion now, but is expected to grow to $5 billion by 2020”.

Dr Reddy’s already has three biosimilars in the domestic market, and one of its products, Reditux (biosimilar rituximab) used in the treatment of non-hodgkin’s lymphoma, is among the top 10 brands for the company with annual revenues of over Rs 24 crore. The company is also working on four biosimilars , one of them being in latestage clinical trials.

Decoding of human AGE

Harvard university's Doctor Ronald DePinho has conducted a scientific study that has shown that aging can be reversed in mice. Will this Biotechnology result occur also in humans? And, if so, how will it change the process of aging? In addition to his work at Harvard University, DePinho is also a cancer geneticist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The mice involved in the study were given an enzyme called telomerase, 4-OHT, to reactivate the telomeres in the body. The telomeres are found on the ends of chromosomes and serve to protect the chromosome from damage. As aging occurs, the telomeres get smaller and eventually die off.

The mice that showed signs of reversed aging had larger brains after receiving the enzyme. It also reversed loss of fertility. DePinho noted "It gives us a sense that there's a point of return for age-associated disorders," notes Nature.

Will telomerase eventually be a drug known to people worldwide? Is this enzyme the magic cure for aging? DePinho was surprised that this enzyme so completely reversed the aging process, rather than just slowing it down, notes the Daily Mail.


He predicts of that eventually a pill containing telomerase will be available for humans. It will reverse the signs of aging that have occurred and bring back a youthful vitality and appearance. The drug could be taken during the 40s or 50s to help impede the onset of serious illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and other diseases that occur most commonly in the elderly.

However, there are risks to a pill of this type. Telomerase can accelerate tumor growth, so much more research on this enzyme will have to be done to ensure that it does not cause development of cancer. DePinho told Nature that "telomerase should prevent healthy cells from becoming cancerous in the first place by preventing DNA damage."
Would you like to take a pill to stay forever young, or do you want to age naturally? Science may make major changes in the way humans age and evolve. The implications of that are both exciting and alarming.
Aging is Complex
It will be fascinating the Biotechnology to see how further study either proves or disproves the findings of Dr. DePinho regarding the aging process. Many questions still need to be answered. Aging is a complex process with many factors. Many more studies are needed to give conclusive information about the effectiveness and safety of using telomerase to prevent aging.