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03.02.2010 | 0 comments

A delegation of Catalan biotech companies and organizations will attend BioAsia in Hyderabad from 3th to 6th February. This is one of the top biotech fairs in Asia and the most important in India. This is the third year that Biocat has coordinated Catalan presence at BioAsia, since this country is one of the future destinations of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector, along with China, where companies are looking for partners for their production processes, clinical trials and to access large markets. Partnering expectations are high, taking into account the more than 3,500 delegates last year and the presence of top multinational corporations working in India.

The Catalan delegation’s participation in BioAsia always generates high expectations, both from the authorities and local media (see photos from the 2009 fair).

Participants in this year’s delegation include ACC1Ó, Farmadiet, Leitat, Masterpharm, Barcelona Science Park (PCB), Parc de l’Alba and Salupharma, in addition to the European Federation of Biotechnology. Other European bodies will share a stand with the Catalan delegation, under the framework of the EBTC (European Business Technology Center), a European Commission project that aims to favor commercial exchanges between India and Europe. The ERBI in Cambridge, Canavese Park (Italy), Astrid Research (Hungary), Qualissima-Renaissance (France), the Genome Analysis Centre of Norwich (United Kingdom) and Sanifit (Balearic Islands) will also be present.

The Indian state of Andra Pradesh has made a huge effort to promote this sector and currently leads the Indian pharmaceutical sector and Genome Valley in Hyderabad, the capital, is the top biotechnology and biomedicine hub in the country. This biomedical valley occupies 600 km2 and is home to 100 biotech and pharma companies.

Visit to Biocon, leading biotech company in India

Participation in this fair is part of a commercial mission that starts in Delhi and finishes in Bangalore, India’s second biotech cluster. The mission, organized by ACC1Ó and Biocat, is headed by the Catalan minister of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise, Josep Huguet, and the president of Biocat, Manel Balcells. A dozen companies from the ICT, environment and renewable energy sectors in Catalonia will also participate. In Bangalore the delegation will visit Biocon, one of the top Indian biotech companies, which has seen a 187% growth in their net profit over the last quarter of 2009 and collaborates with some Catalan businesses.

With this visit, Biocat will strengthen the agreement signed last February with the organizers of BioAsia (Federation of Asian Biotech Associations) to foster collaboration and exchange between science parks in Barcelona and Genome Valley. This agreement opens up long-term possibilities to create an institutional framework for joint Indian-Catalan commercial actions. As a result of this support, the president of Biocat, Manel Balcells, will be recognized by the Government of Andra Pradesh on 6th February.

Date: 3th to 6th February 2010
Place: Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) • Hyderabad (India)