Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Indian/UK scientists in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries

A £1.5 million UK-India Science Bridge, BioPharm 2020, funded by The Research Councils UK (RCUK) and Department of Science and Technology (DST) India, was officially launched on Monday 26 October 2009 at the India Habitat Centre.  

A three-year grant of £1.5 million has been made to the University of Nottingham, the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. The three partners aim to create a step-change in collaborative innovation in target identification, drug discovery, drug delivery and manufacturing. They will build on existing collaborations with the goal of producing clinical and commercial benefits from patent protected research.

The official launch of BioPharm 2020 was signified by the signing of the collaboration agreement by all three parties.

Professor Pradip Bhatnagar, Senior Vice President, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals chaired the launch event. Presentations covered a range of topics including cancer research, infectious diseases, pharmacy education, stem cells and regenerative medicine, drug discovery, as well as the importance of international collaboration.

Director IITKanpur, Prof. Sanjay Govind Dhande said:

"I am very pleased to note the progress with UK-India Science Bridge initiative. I would like to congratulate the participating researchers on the occasion of the official launch of the Science Bridge. It is also a major landmark in our effort to bring about Industry-Academia linkages.
Our collaboration with the University of Nottingham and Indian Institute of Management Bangalore would provide the right impetus for us to achieve leadership in translational Biomedical research. I also express my gratitude to the funding agencies, DST and RCUK, for supporting this venture. I wish a grand success for the UK-India Science Bridge".

The UK Pharmaceutical Industry generates annual exports of over £14 billion and an annual output per employee of 235,278 (ABPI 2006). A strong foundation for this industry is the investment in research and development (over 26% of gross output was re-invested in 2006) and innovation and knowledge transfer between Universities and Industry.

BioPharm 2020 Science Bridge will exploit synergies between scientists and industries in India and the UK to create a step-change in collaborative innovation in target identification, drug discovery, drug delivery and manufacturing. The University of Nottingham (UoN), Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) and Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) will build on extensive collaborations with the goals of producing:

(a) clinical and commercial benefits from patent protected research
(b) world class human resource with a focus on interfacing with Industry, and
(c) an assessment of the supply chain and outsourcing potential for long-term business engagement and policy formulation between the two countries.

BioPharm 2020 will deliver patent disclosures for inventions that are possible only due to the synergistic research expertise across the Science Bridge, a substantial cohort of students and early stage career academics with hands-on experience of innovation and long-term bonds between UK and Indian companies that exploit unique capabilities in each country.

Notes for Editors

1. The Indian Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology sectors are undergoing a dramatic evolution due to the adoption from January 2005 of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) resulting in the recognition of product patents for pharmaceuticals. Growth rates for Indian Pharmaceutical Industries has accelerated from 9.5% to 13.6% since 2005 (Associated Chambers of Commerce India) and biotechnology growth rates exceed 37% (Biospectrum).

2. UK-India Science Bridges award winners:

• University of Aston and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi: Bioenergy: Technology and Business Solutions for the UK
  
• University of Leeds and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Indian Agricultural Research Institute: Sustainable Indo-UK Agricultural Initiative
  
• University of Nottingham and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore: Biopharm 2020: Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Indian/UK Scientists in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industries
  

3. Background to the awards

The first Science Bridge was funded by UK Government in 2006 to support existing collaborations between the UK and USA by taking research results towards commercialisation and undertaking proof of concept studies. They have now been extended to include the emerging super-economies of China and India.

These recent awards have been made to UK institutions with existing research links with the US, China and India to accelerate the deployment of research knowledge, deepen and strengthen current research links, enable the acquisition of new skills and encourage wealth creation through improving the transfer of research and expertise from the research base to businesses and other users by building science and innovation bridges with world-class universities and high-tech businesses.

4. Funding information

The Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST) is actively partnering Research Councils UK in supporting Science Bridge partnerships and will provide the financial resource (up to £4 million matching the support to UK Institutions) to the partner Indian Institutions of the successful applications.

5. Research Councils UK

The seven Research Councils are independent non-departmental public bodies, funded by the Science and Research Budget through the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). They are incorporated by Royal Charter and together manage a research budget of around £3 billion a year. Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the partnership between the UK's seven Research Councils. Through RCUK, the Research Councils work together to champion the research, training and innovation they support.

6. The seven UK Research Councils are:

• Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
  
• Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
  
• Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC)
  
• Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
  
• Medical Research Council (MRC)
  
• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
  
• Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) 

28.10.2009

Dan Chugg
Director, Press and Communications
British High Commission
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
Tel: 26872161; Fax: 26870065
mailto: Deepti.Soni@fco.gov.uk

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