Hyderabad, the capital city of the Indian state of Telangana is playing host to the Bio Asia Summit this year. The state has been making waves in the global life science industry for quite some time now. The state government has set a target of $250 billion by 2030 to boost the life sciences ecosystem in the state.

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The event showcased Hyderabad's outstanding strengths in the life sciences industry, which have been attracting a lot of attention from investors and global players.

KT Rama Rao, the Minister of IT and Industries, said, “The strengths of life sciences industry here in Telangana is something truly astounding. We produce one-third of global vaccines from Telangana. One of Hyderabad's key strengths is that it has the largest number of US FDA approved manufacturing facilities in a province. This not only reflects the city's commitment to quality but also indicates that it has been able to benchmark itself against global standards successfully."

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Moreover, Hyderabad's ambition is to move up the value chain and focus on innovation. Research and development are critical to achieving this goal, and the government is providing infrastructural and funding support to enable this.

The city is also home to some of the world's largest pharma companies. Novartis has its second-largest center in Hyderabad, while Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has recently announced investments in the city.

However, large pharma companies are worried about intellectual property (IP), and incentives for R&D need to be put back in place to attract more investment into the sector.

Rao said, “Volume is not what matters, but value is what really matters. So as you move up that value chain, you need to incentivise, and I have made this case to be Piyush Goyal, I have made this case to government in Delhi, but unfortunately, they have taken out all the incentives that there are with respect to research and development for any pharma company or biotech company in India, that needs to be put back in place, and governments can actually act as enablers.”

Hyderabad has been launching initiatives to focus on innovation from the level of education. The government believes that research is the bedrock of innovation and has been emphasizing the need to create an environment that fosters innovation. Hyderabad is also at the verge of launching Hyderabad Pharma City, which will provide more opportunities for the life science industry.

Hyderabad has also emerged as a hub for contract research organizations (CROs). It has the top five CROs in the city, indicating that Hyderabad is a preferred destination for clinical trials and research. The city is also home to Asia's largest stent manufacturing facility, further emphasizing its prowess in the life science industry.

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(Edited by : Pradeep John)