The biotechnology committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry has initiated the formation of the Association of
Biotechnology-Led Enterprises that will represent the biotechnology sector.

The formation of the association was announced at the Biotech India 2003, organised by CII and being held concurrently with the International Engineering and Technology Fair 2003.

According to CII, the association will be to the biotechnology industry what the National Association of Software and Services Companies is to the infotech industry.

The president of the association will be Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman and managing director of Biocon India.

To begin with, the association will use the services of CII and will be headquartered at the CII secretariat. However, eventually it will be hived off as an independent entity.

"Leading Indian biotechnology companies recognised the need for a forum that would represent India's unique biotechnology environment and would generate a symbiotic interface between industry, the government,
academic and research bodies," Sandhya Tewari, deputy director of CII, told Business Standard.

"There are over 160 biotechnology companies in India with a combined revenue of $150 million. Diverse domains of biotechnology, from industrial enzymes and diagnostics to biotherapeutics, like recombinant vaccines and human insulin, are encompassed within the broad spectrum of these companies," said Tewari.

The objectives of the association include accelerating the pace of biotechnology in the country by enabling strategic alliances between researchers, the government and the global biotech industry.

It also intends to showcase breakthrough technologies and cutting-edge initiatives that will take the domestic biotech sector to new heights. The association will act as a partnering and consulting body to the government.