IndiaPost.com - US-India BioPharma Summit in June

NEW YORK: The USA-India Chamber of Commerce (USAIC), a bilateral Chamber of Commerce aimed at promoting and facilitating trade and investment between the United States and India, will organize its annual US-India BioPharma Summit on June 13 at Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Massachusetts. "Delivering Affordable Innovation through Cross Border Partnerships" is the theme of the summit.

"The US-India BioPharma Summit is part of an ongoing dialogue with all the stakeholders including industry, investors, policy makers and academia," said Karun Rishi, President of the USA-India Chamber of Commerce, announcing the details of the summit. Besides, Kapil Sibal, Minister of Science & Technology and Dr. M K Bhan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, key policy makers from India are likely to attend the summit for which a number of companies from India and the US have already confirmed their participation. Prominent companies like Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck & Co, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Wyeth, Biogen Idec, Vertex Pharma, Schering Plough, Jubilant, Advinus, Biocon and Aurigine are likely to participate.

Among other are Lehman Brothers, Lazard, TVM Capital, Alexandria Real Estate and a number of investment bankers and venture capitalists. "Participation interest in the 2008 Summit has been very encouraging," Karun Rishi said, adding the summit will focus on established and emerging Biotech and Pharmaceutical companies.

"We expect a strong participation from emerging companies. This is an ideal platform to forge alliances and business partnerships," Karun Rishi said. Discussions of the US-India BioPharma Summit 2008 will be centered on a wide range of issues — Drug Discovery, Research & Development, India’s role in Global Bio/Pharma R&D: Transition from "Generics" to "Drug Innovation", In/Out Licensing- New Partnerships and Business Models, Clinical Trials in India: Opportunities and regulatory issues, Neglected Diseases, Innovation & Intellectual Property Protection, Funding Innovation- Opportunities and Challenges, Investment Opportunities, Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliance Dynamics in the Indian Bio-Pharma Industry, Cross border investment trends in the Bio-Pharma industry and Industry-Academic Partnership. With clinical trial in India generating lot of interest, Karun Rishi said, at the request of the industry a separate discussion session on it has been planned during the summit.

"Through this discussion session, I am sure the participants would get clarity on various issues related to it including regulatory concerns and issues with Phase 1 trials," he said. Referring to the recent decisions taken by several Indian companies like Ranbaxy, Nicholas Piramal, Dr. Reddy’s Lab, Sun Pharma, Orchid Pharma and Wockhardt to create their research arm into separate companies, Karun Rishi said: "This move will attract investments and open doors for collaborative research partnerships in drug discovery and development." This shows that Indian Bio Pharma industry is moving towards innovation, he added. Karun Rishi said the overwhelming response coming from the companies both in India and the US is because of the successful summit last year.

"Our Summits are unique. These are not only result oriented, but we also provide continuity and regular follow up," he said. The previous edition of the summit in 2007 had attracted over 300 participants. As a result of the 2007 Summit, several US companies have opened their offices in India. Many Indian companies have expanded their operations in the US.

Level of business relationship with India of prominent companies like Amgen, Astra Zeneca, Biogen Idec, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Merck & Co, Pfizer, Wyeth, Forest Laboratories, has gone up in 2007. Further, the USA-India Chamber of Commerce is actively promoting Industry-Investor-Academia partnership.

"This kind of interaction is critical for innovation," he said. Prominent Biotech, Pharma and Healthcare policy makers and researchers from the US have visited India in the last few months most notably Secretary Michael Leavitt of Health and Human Services, Elias Zerhouni, Director NIH, Noble laureate Prof. David Baltimore and Prof. Eric Lander of Broad Institute. We are working actively to bring on board Indian Bio Pharma research institutes like ICMR, NIPER and institutes under Department of Biotechnology, CSIR and Department of Science & Technology.