BioAsia 2024, one of the marque life sciences and healthcare conferences in the country, will kick off on Tuesday, February 27, initiating intense deliberations on the latest developments, opportunities, and challenges in the life sciences space.
The three-day event, however, began here on Monday, with delegates visiting a few facilities of life sciences companies.
Christopher Boerner, CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb; Gregg Semenza, Nobel Laureate and Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; and Rodney Hochman, President & CEO of the US-based Providence, will deliver the keynote addresses on the inaugural day.
The theme for the 21st edition is ‘Transforming Life Sciences with Data and AI’.
D Sridhar Babu, Telangana Minister for Industries and Commerce, said that the 21st edition of BioAsia would act as a catalyst and bring industry leaders together, exchange ideas, bring innovation and make Hyderabad the capital of life sciences in the world.
Telangana Industries Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said that the event would focus on partnerships, data-driven innovation, and accelerating research with AI.
“How best we can apply the use of Data and AI and the key takeaways from the event,” Shakthi Nagappan, Director of Life Sciences (Telangana) and CEO of BioAsia, said.
Over 3,000 delegates from over 50 countries attended the 20th edition.
Industries like G V Prasad (Managing Director and Co-Chairman of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories); Sharvil Patel (Managing Director, Zydus Cadila); and Toon Overstijns (Managing Director and Chairman of the Board, Miltenyi Biomedicine) would take part in the first panel discussion on ‘Now or never - Pushing the boundaries to become global drug discovery engine’.
“BioAsia focuses on driving growth of the industry by enabling an effective environment for fostering collaborations, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and promote innovations. It will provide a platform for companies to showcase and launch their products and services,” a BioAsia 2024 spokesperson said.
Moving back to an in-person format, BioAsia 2024, Asia’s largest life-sciences and healthcare forum, will witness the participation of top personalities such as avid Ricks - CEO, Eli Lilly and Company; Geoff Martha - Chairman and CEO, Medtronic; Stefan Kaufmann - CEO, Olympus; and Arunish Chawla - Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India.
Plant visits
Around 200 delegates, representing national and international companies, were taken in for a guided tour of the Genome Valley here on Monday in two groups. They visited IKP Knowledge Park (incubation centre) and Multitalented Facility Neovantage (Takshashila) to understand the facility and possible business prospects.
As part of the tour, the delegates were also shown around facilities of Bharat Biotech, Biological E Limited, and Sai Life Sciences in the Valley.