Investment needed to scale up vaccine production
Biotechnology, an asset heavy industry, has a huge opportunity to become a self-reliant sector if the government provided a stimulus package, said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon.
This is the time for all technologies to converge and biotech’s role is very vital in the COVID-19 which is an emergency, said Shaw at a
webinar on “Wonder Women in Frontline Biotech: India Leading the Race for Covid Cure” organized by FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) on 15 May 2020.
It would be beneficial if the government provided a stimulus package as this is a huge opportunity for the biotech sector to become self-reliant, she underlined.
The government needs to step up for such emergencies and look at long term planning, added Shaw.
The world is waiting for a vaccine for COVID-19 but till the time it is developed, there is a need to conduct tests and build a treatment regime to save lives, she pointed out.
Shaw also highlighted that the Indian biotech sector worked quickly and came out with indigenous test kits. Today, more than 200,000 tests can be conducted using RT-PCR kits and soon over a million tests can be conducted using indigenous test kits.
Broad-based approach has been adopted for developing treatment therapies for COVID-19, added Suchitra Ella, Joint Managing Director, Bharat Biotech.
The world is together in this coronavirus crisis and the need is to cut across barriers for public health, Ella told the webinar on how biotechnology companies are contributing towards developing a vaccine for COVID-19.
Assuming that a vaccine is successful, it is important to understand that investment is needed to scale it up, Mahima Datla, Managing Director, Biological E. Limited, told the webinar.
Going from lab success to making 100 million doses is not trivial, added Datla, underlining the need for cohesive funding for product development.
“India’s biotechnology industry is working towards finding the next generation cure for COVID-19,” said Jahnabi Phookan, President Elect, FICCI FLO, said.
She underlined that biotechnology is leading the charge and actively contributing towards research efforts to find a vaccine to combat the virus.
“Today, when we are in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis, Covid-19 has put the entire globe into a slowdown but it looks like India handled the situation relatively well than other big and developed countries.
“We feel happy that our biotechnology industry is making sincere efforts towards finding solutions to tackle the pandemic with vaccines and medicines with the help from leading biotechnology companies in India,” Phookan said. fiinews.com
