India launches $250 mn National Biopharmaceutical Mission

On June 30, 2017, Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan launched National Biopharmaceutical Mission. This programme has been named Innovate in India (i3).

About National Biopharmaceutical Mission – i3:

National Biopharmaceutical Mission is the first ever Industry-Academia mission to accelerate biopharmaceutical development in India.

• It is a $250 million dollar initiative that includes a $125 million loan from the World Bank.
• Despite India being a forerunner in developing life saving drugs and low cost pharmaceutical products, it currently serves only 2.8% of the global biopharmaceutical market. Mission goal is to expand India’s market share to 5% resulting in an additional business opportunity of $16 Billion.
• The thrust areas for the mission are vaccine development, biotherapeutics, diagnostics and development of medical devices.
• With a view to encourage cooperation between the various ministries, an inter-ministerial steering committee will oversee the mission.
• The mission will create an ecosystem to support researchers and entrepreneurs in health sector by providing shared infrastructure, financial support and also encouraging exchange of ideas among stakeholders.
• The target is to help in the development of 6-10 new products over five years, which is the current life of the mission.
• This is the first time World Bank is helping in a project to strengthen the R&D activities in any country. Partnering with World Bank would allow scientists and entrepreneurs in India to tap into a global network.

Implementation of National Biopharmaceutical Mission:

The mission will be implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Public Sector Undertaking of Department of Biotechnology.

• BIRAC will bring together expertise from national and international corridors to provide strategic guidance and direction to move promising solutions through the product development value chain.