Prof. B J Rao, Vice Chancellor, University of Hyderabad (UoH) presented The Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA) Excellence Award to Dr. Renu Swarup (Former Secretary, Dept. of Biotechnology Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India) and FABA Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr. D Balasubramanian (Director of Research, LV Prasad Eye Institute) on 23rd February 2023 at the Hyderabad Life Sciences Innovation cluster meeting” on Industry & Academia Collaboration for the Promotion of Innovations & Translational Research held at National Animal Resource Facility for Biomedical Research (NARFBR), Genome Valley, Shamirpet (M), Hyderabad.
Dr. Pallu Reddanna (Executive Vice President, FABA) welcomed the dignitaries. He also shared the rich sci-tech heritage of Hyderabad along with current developments – industry & academic wise. Institute (National Animal Resource Facility for Biomedical Research NARFBR) Director, Dr. S G Ramachandra welcomed the delegates at the venue. Prof. B J Rao addressed the gathering and set the tune of the program pointing to ways of innovation and boosting mind-power.
In the main session, Ms. Harita Vasireddi (Managing Director, Vimta Labs) stressed on the translation of knowledge from academia to industry. Dr. Anand Kumar (Director, Indian Immunologicals Limited) summarized the contribution of Indian Immunologicals to the production of various vaccines through the collaboration of top academic institutes in India. He urged Institutes to develop “faster”-mechanism which in turn will help seamless collaboration with industries.
Prof. Premkumar Reddy (Director, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York) narrated the importance of academic research where more than 50% of “targets” are being identified for new drug development. However, academic institutes need support in patent filing, regulatory approvals, and validated manufacturing. His well-researched presentation pointed out that proper collaboration can cut down the time 3-4 years (10-12 years to 6-9 years) for a new drug approval process.
Institute (NARFBR) Director, Dr. S G Ramachandra, Dr. Archana Bharadwaj Siva (Senior Principal Scientist, CCMB), Dr. K Thangaraj (Director, CDFD), Dr. Jagadish (Chief Scientist – IICT), Dr. P Yogeeswari (Senior Professor, BITS Hyderabad), Dr. G Bhanuprakash Reddy (Head,Biochemistry Division, NIN), Dr. Taru Sharma (Director, National Institute of Animal Biotechnology or NIAB) – all shared various facilities the institute is having and asked industry representatives for possible collaboration.
Representatives of University of Hyderabad and Osmania University presented about the facilities available for industry collaboration. Dr. Debashis Mitra (CEO, DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance) shared the funding opportunity for start-up.
Several representatives from industries like Biological E., Yapon Bio, Granules India, Hetero Labs, Yapon Bio presented their respective organizations, activities and products so that participants from academia can understand the pharma & biopharma industries in a better way.
Apart from individual presentations from academia & industries, there was a panel discussion to discuss meaningful ways of academia-industry collaboration. Representatives of institutes, industries and policy-makers participate in the discussion.
The program was attended by around 150 delegates across various reputed academic institutes and industries of India & abroad.