Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : The first ever Industry-Academia mission to accelerate biopharmaceutical development in India will be formally launched by the Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Dr Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi on June 30, 2017.
The programme named Innovate in India (i3) will witness an investment of USD 250 million with USD 125 million as a loan from world Bank and is anticipated to be a game changer for the Indian Biopharmaceutical industry. It aspires to create an enabling ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship and indigenous manufacturing in the sector, according to a PIB release.
India has been an active player in the pharmaceutical industry and has contributed globally towards making life saving drugs and low cost pharmaceutical products accessible and affordable for those in need. Be it the Rotavirus vaccine, heart valve prosthesis or affordable insulin, India has been a forerunner in these and many more, according to the PIB release. Despite, these advances Indian biopharmaceutical industry is still 10-15 years behind the developed countries and faces stiff competition from China, Korea and others.
The i3 is committed to make India a hub for design and development of novel, affordable and effective biopharmaceutical products and solutions.