TS attracts Rs 6,400-cr investments in life sciences sector last year: KTR

Hyderabad Telangana has attracted investments worth more than Rs 6,400 crore ($850 million) in life sciences sector from about 215 companies – both existing and new entrants – and this has created additional employment for more than 34,000 people in last one year alone, said KT Rama Rao, Minister for Industries and Commerce, while virtually inaugurating 19th edition of BioAsia on Thursday.

"This is almost 200 per cent more than the investment attracted by the life sciences sector during the previous year, which clearly underscores the growing role and impact of Hyderabad's life sciences ecosystem and the State's endeavour to ensure required support to this sector. The city continues to make an indelible imprint in the life sciences sector not just in India but also globally," he said.

"The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on the importance of the life sciences industry and the need to build robust healthcare systems. 'Future Ready' is the theme of BioAsia 2022, the annual flagship event by Telangana government. As the life sciences industry develops its future growth strategy, this is the right time to deliberate on the imperatives for the future growth," the minister said.

He congratulated Dr Drew Weissman, Professor of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania's Perelman Medical School, who received the coveted 'Genome Valley Excellence Award' this year for his pioneering work on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), which ultimately led to the development of both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. His contributions are indeed remarkable and helped save millions of lives globally.

Genome Valley's prominence has been recognised globally in the wake of the pandemic, with most of the country's vaccine manufacturers being from this cluster. It is a matter of immense pride for us that 2 out of the 3 indigenously developed vaccines - Covaxin and Corbevax - are from Hyderabad. Also, both the vaccines which are approved in India for children are from Hyderabad.

Further, Genome valley continues to witness expansion of several pharmaceutical companies. Syngene International, a leading CRO is expanding its operations in the cluster. Further, a Germany-headquartered global leader in pharmaceutical excipient solutions, DFE Pharma, is set to launch their center of excellence named as Closer to the Formulator (C2F).

Also, Yapan Bio, which started in Genome Valley, recently saw investment from Piramal Pharma of more than Rs 100 crore to continue their expansion in the cluster. Also, companies like Porus Life Sciences, CVR Life Sciences, Dandu Bio Sciences and Laurus Synthesis are investing around Rs 500 crore cumulatively in the cluster.

Similarly, the State of Telangana had identified medical devices as a high-potential sector, creating immense opportunities. This sector is growing in leaps and bounds. In December, the minister inaugurated seven companies in Medical Devices Park and almost 20 more facilities will be operational in the next six months.

The park now has over 50 companies setting up their manufacturing and R&D units with an overall investment commitment of around Rs 1,500 crore and employment to 7,000 people. In addition to about Rs 1,500-crore investments from companies like Medtronic, B-Braun and others in Hyderabad, the minister is hopeful to announce more companies with which the discussions are going on.

"On the pharmaceutical front, we are inching closer to the launch of the world's largest pharmaceutical cluster, Hyderabad Pharma City. This cluster has been planned with the most advanced and efficient utility and environmental infrastructure, with an objective to increase cost-competitiveness of the industry ultimately making affordable and quality medicines available for the citizens globally," KTR said.

This pharma cluster will truly redefine the landscape of pharmaceuticals and also industrial clusters globally," he said, adding "We remain committed to the environment and also promoting sustainable practices. We have set up a multi-industry supported innovation and technology hub for Flow Chemistry in the city as an initiative towards ensuring greater adoption of greener manufacturing processes."

The minister further said, "BioAsia has been instrumental in showcasing our policies, infrastructure, ecosystem and achievements globally, in addition to helping us shape our strategy based on inputs from the industry leaders. The flagship event helps us play a catalytic role in bringing stakeholders together and enabling deliberations on topics of global relevance."