Indian Biotech Industry Survey

Bangalore, August 11: India's fledgling biotechnology industry registered a 39 percent growth in revenues in 2003-04 to reach Rs 3,265 crore ( $ 705 million). And the number of companies in the biotechnology sector has grown to 235 from about 150 in the previous year, according to the 2nd BioSpectrum-ABLE Biotechnology Industry Survey.

"Biotech is recognized the world over as technology of the future. The Indian biotechnology industry is gathering momentum. With revenues of over $700 million (Rs 3,265 crore) in 2003-04, the fledgling biotech Industry, despite all the hurdles in its path, is on the way to cross the psychological barrier of $1 billion in the current year. And if the momentum continues, the industry will reach its goal of $5 billion in 2010," emphasized Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, President, ABLE (Association of Biotechnology-Led Enterprises) and CMD, Biocon Ltd.

The first BioSpectrum-ABLE Survey in 2003 had estimated the industry size to be Rs 1,840 crore which was later revised to Rs 2,345 crore. There were about 150 companies in this sector in 2002-03.

During the year, two leading biotech groups--Serum and Biocon--surpassed the Rs 500 crore mark and accounted for a third of the industry size. While Serum was the largest biotech group with revenues of Rs 555 crore, Biocon was a close second with Rs 549 crore from Biocon Ltd, Syngene International, and Clinigene.

Biocon Ltd held on to its No.1 spot in the BioSpectrum Top 20 ranking for the second consecutive year with biotech revenues of Rs 502 crore. Pune-based Serum Institute of India Ltd, part of the Poonawalla Group, is the largest exporter of vaccines and immuno-biologicals from India and was ranked No.2 with revenues of approximately Rs 491 crore from the sale of biotechnology products in 2003-04.

Panacea Biotec, New Delhi, was the third largest company with Rs 149 crore of biotech product sales. While Nicholas Piramal, Mumbai, was No. 4, followed by Novo Nordisk at No. 5. Their respective biotech businesses stood at Rs 130 crore and Rs 110 crore. Interestingly all these five companies grossed in excess of Rs 100 crore in sales. With total biotech revenues of Rs 1,382 crore, the top five alone accounted for about 42 percent of the total market share.

"For this year's analysis, we considered biopharma products under four broad categories of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and others like statins. Products made from fermentation or animal cell culture (not animal extracts) and plant cell culture (not plant extracts) were taken into account. In the agri sector, transgenic crops, biopesticides and biofertilizers were considered along with biomarkers and agri research services. The other sectors considered included bioinformatics, bioindustrial mainly consisting of enzymes and bioservices mainly falling into the clinical trials and custom research, informed BioSpectrum Chief Editor, E Abraham Mathew.

"Though the overall industry grew by 39 percent. Different subsegments within the sectors had different rates of growth. The biopharma sector is the largest sector in the country with a total market share close to 76 percent. The sector has been led by strong growth in the statins market and by Biocon. The vaccines business is the largest contributor to the biopharma sector. It accounted for almost 28 percent of the market share. While the exports for the human health vaccine manufacturers nearly remained the same, the animal health care segment grew by about 25-30 percent," added N Suresh, Editor, BioSpectrum.

While the total biotech exports accounted for 55.65 percent share of the total biotech sector. The domestic business accounted for 44.35 percent market share. BioPharma sector accounted for the largest share of the exports. Its share was estimated in excess of 76 percent. Vaccines and statins have largely been exported, while the therapeutic products have been largely responsible for the domestic business.

The next biggest sector was the BioServices industry. With total sales of Rs 275 crore, this sector accounted for 8.42 percent of the total biotech market. It witnessed over 100 percent growth. Companies like Quintiles, Syngene and SIRO Clinpharm are doing extremely well.

Fiscal 2003-04 has clearly ushered in a new era for the bioagri sector. Bt cotton was a major success. The end consumers have accepted Bt technology and the demand outgrew the supply, resulting in the spawning of illegal or fake Bt cotton seeds. Mahyco's Bt cotton seeds, which were the only permitted varieties for cultivation, were cultivated in over 92,000 hectare of land.

The biocluster in the Western region is the clear leader among the regions. Interestingly, though West is leading the biotechnology industry in terms of revenue, South region which houses over 60 percent of the biotechnology companies is doing well in terms of the growth rate over the previous year.

The South is growing at the rate of 46 percent while West is growing at the rate of 41 percent. This is mainly because of the good working environment, government support and initiatives for the growth of the industry.

The manpower in the biotech sector grew by over 42 percent to grow to 9,100. The biotech companies this fiscal would end at about 11,000. And the investments have climbed up by 25.99 percent to Rs 635 crore during the year. In 2004-05 this is forecast to grow by 33.86 percent to Rs 850 crore.

BioSuppliers market grows to Rs 820 crore in FY 2004
"The BioSuppliers market was estimated separately. The total industry grew from Rs 561.40 crore in FY 2003 to Rs 820 crore in FY 2004. It is predominantly an importer's market, with domestic sales accounting for more than 97 percent share of the total industry size. Most of the leading global suppliers have their presence in India either directly or indirectly," added Suresh. The top five companies were Agilent Technologies, Becton Dickinson, Thermo Electron, Lab India and Millipore. These five alone accounted for 40 percent of the total suppliers market, with a total business of Rs 343 crore. This sector too expects to grow by about 40 percent in 2004-05.

About BioSpectrum
BioSpectrum, published from Bangalore as India's first exclusive magazine on biotechnology, was launched by CyberMedia in March 2003.

CyberMedia is South Asia's first and largest specialty media house, with nine publications (including Dataquest and PCQuest) in the infotech, telecom, consumer electronics and biotech areas; and a media value chain including the internet (www.ciol.com), events and television. The group's media services include market research (IDC India), content outsourcing, multimedia, gaming, and media education.
For more details, contact www.biospectrumindia.com.

About ABLE
The Association of Biotechnology-Led Enterprises was launched in April 2003 in Bangalore to act as the forum to represent India's unique biotech environments. ABLE acts as the forum to generate a symbiotic interface between the industry, government, academic and research bodies, domestic and international investors.

For more details contact, www.ableindia.org

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