Innovations to take centre stage

“2012 has witnessed a rapidly changing paradigm in healthcare which has bucked global trends of shift towards generics & biosimilars and the growing influence of emerging markets. The global Biopharma industry continued to pursue a strategy of co-development, in-licensing as well as M&As to address the issue of depleting new drug pipelines. In addition to contract manufacturing, new trends of joint commercialization also emerged particularly in Asia as large Pharma was compelled to address challenges of COGS especially in the emerging world where affordability was recognized as a key requirement for market competitiveness.  Growing popularity of generics to contain spiraling healthcare costs augurs well for the Indian pharma industry, however for domestic players the drug pricing policy changes introduced in 2012 are expected to impact the profitability of the Indian pharma.

Biocon during 2012, made significant progress across its businesses particularly in Biosimilars and Novel Molecules where we achieved significant milestones in the development pathway of both biosimilar Insulins, MAbs and Novel Molecules.

The year ahead, holds immense promise for the Indian Biotech sector which is at an inflection point. The industry has leveraged the entrepreneurial spirit to build a strong foundation which has enabled it to grow at a CAGR of 20% for over a decade. The next year will see innovation taking center stage, driving significant progress in the areas of biosimilars & diagnostics for affordable healthcare, integrated traditional medicine, biomedical informatics, bio-fuels for less dependence on petroleum, bioremediation for environmental recovery, enhanced agricultural productivity and improved nutritional attributes.

Biopharma and the healthcare sector is the largest component of the Indian Biotech industry and the most promising.  The coming year will see collaborative trends gaining momentum with more co-development and marketing partnerships – between multinationals and the Indian companies as they seek to accelerate their growth by leveraging emerging markets.  Indian Biopharma is expected to witness an uptrend as Emerging markets grow ahead of the developed markets with 75% of the worldwide growth coming out of these markets. The global generics opportunity estimated to grow twofold and be over $430 bn market by 2016 also augurs well for the Indian pharma. Similarly the Indian Biopharma industry has the potential to carve a significant part of the global biosimilars opportunity estimated to grow five - fold from $ 1 Bn today to $ 5 Bn by 2016. 

In line with these trends, we will see a surge in both Biomanufacturing and bioservices partnerships which will enable innovative solutions for the world coming out of India.  The increasing focus on genomics and proteomics in Pharmaceutical research augers well for Bioinformatics where India can position itself as a key hub of knowledge and expertise. With the excellent foundation, improved infrastructure, good quality talent and enabling regulatory environment, Biotech has the potential to be the next technology beacon for the nation.

As for Biocon we are truly committed to provide affordable high quality biopharmaceuticals for chronic diseases particularly Diabetes, Cancer & Auto Immune diseases. We are on track to bring our second Novel Molecule, Itolizumab, an anti CD6 monoclonal antibody, to the market in India next year.  For 2013, that will be the most significant achievement for Biocon and a great boon for Indian patients struggling to manage Psoriasis.  We will also continue to focus on expanding our Insulin market in several emerging markets in Asia, Middle East North Africa, LATAM and Eastern Europe.  ”   
-  Kiran Mazumdar Shaw- CMD, Biocon