Bio Asia 2004 set to be biggest event yet

Interacting with media persons here today, he said there had been a very good response from other countries, particularly from Southeast Asia.

A large contingent of 500 delegates from 24 countries would take part in the meet which would serve as a global business forum for forging strategic alliances between the Asian and the global biotech community. Even the response from developed countries like the US, France, the UK, Germany etc is very encouraging, Acharya said.

The summit will lay emphasis on the potential opportunities that India offers to biotech companies. A session is devoted to showcasing Indian research in biotechnology.

The directors of CCMB and CDFD, Lalji Singh and Seyed E Hasnain respectively, Ranbaxy's R&D president Rashmi Barbhaiya, and Rakesh Bhatnagar of JN University will address this session. There will also be a full session on 'Biotechnology in Asia: Partners in Progress' with speakers hailing from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Japan and Malaysia.

Acharya said that during the event, two Genome Valley Excellence awards would be conferred for life-time achievements on M S Swaminathan and professor William Rutter from the US.