India’s biotech sector is expected to grow at 20 per cent per annum in the near future, given the growing demand for biopharmaceuticals, biosimilars and vaccines.

Biofuels would also offer a huge growth opportunity in biotech, the Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon, the country’s largest biotech company by revenue, Mr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, told PTI here.

“We are entering the era of bioeconomy, where biotechnology can provide powerful solutions to some of the grave challenges that we face today: food scarcity, energy deficit, environmental damage, unmet medical needs and industrial pollution,” she said.

Ms Mazumdar-Shaw said the size of the country’s biotech sector had reached $3.5 billion in 2010 and is poised for robust growth in all segments of biotechnology.

“India is already a world leader in vaccine production, Bt Cotton and biopharmaceuticals, especially biosimilars,” she said.

“India is also a large producer of industrial enzymes for green technologies and bioremediation. We also have critical mass in tissue culture-based cultivation.”

However, the CMD also referred to regulatory delays, import-export delays and restrictions, lack of venture funding and the listing norms that are unfavourable to innovation-led biotech companies.

“The inherent risk associated with gestational time lines involved in developing biotech products is a huge deterrent for investors. Example, Bt Brinjal”, she pointed out.

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