Swiss pharmaceutical major Novartis AG, known for its tough stand against the Indian government over the rejection of patent protection to its blockbuster cancer medicine Glivec, will attempt an image makeover in the country soon. The company plans to join hands with key administrators, academicians and leading research institutes to identify, encourage and groom young talents in the field of biotechnology in India.
The company will organize a Biotechnology Leadership Camp (Biocamp) with the assistance of universities and government institutions in the country to identify Indian talents in biotechnology sector. Biocamp is an international knowledge exchange programme where world-renowned experts in medicine and biotechnology share their knowledge with young scientists at national, regional and global level seminars. Such camps are successfully running in countries like Japan, Korea, Egypt, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Taiwan and Thailand.
“We plan to hold a local Biocamp in India next year and are already in talks with potential partners. It is our endeavour to expose Indian students to the next level in cutting edge research”, Ranjit Shahani, vice chairman and managing director, Novartis India Ltd said.
The winners of such regional biocamps are selected for the International Biocamp. India had two nominees to the current year’s International Biocamp, which concluded in Hong Kong on October 27.
While the current nominees were selected on the basis of individual merits, the selection process from the next year will be through local biocamp that will involve all stakeholders engaged in organising the camp for over 30 young Indian scientists.
“Biocamp is just one example of the Novartis commitment to supporting excellence in scientific education and innovation in research and development,” said Marjorie Yang, member of the Board of Directors, Novartis AG. “As part of the Novartis $ 6.4 billion investment in research, this program builds connections between the biotech industry and up-and-coming talent from leading universities. Through the ongoing interaction and fresh-thinking the company creates new fuel required to develop new medicines.”
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The International Biocamp had speakers like Paul Herrling, Head of Corporate Research at Novartis, George Daley from Harvard Medical School and Huanming Yang from the Beijing Genomics Institute.
The camp, which saw 55 students from about 30 countries, was jointly organized by Novartis Pharmaceuticals (HK) Ltd, the School of Pharmacy of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park.