Author: Biotech Express

Editorial: Drs Ella deserve Padma Award for their innovations and management in biotechnology: India’s pioneer recombinant biologist Prof Ramareddy Guntaka Editorial: Cyrus Poonawalla, the ‘‘Vaccine King’’ awarded Padma Bhushan 2022 for his achievements in biotechnology Editorial: Dr Krishna Ella: From a Farmer to Biotech Tycoon Editorial: India’s Notable Padma Awardee Biotech Billionaires Editorial: Rajeev Varshney, India’s third highest cited scientist joins Murdoch University Australia | p24 Guestorial: Mahima Datla and BP Acharya to receive FABA 2022 special awards | p22 Featured BioNews ▶ VACCINE HESITANCY: Men Wrestles Official, Climbs Tree To Dodge Covid Shot ▶ Global response to COVID-19 pandemic…

Drs. Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella traveled through a rough road to bring Bharat Biotech to the forefront in vaccine production. Dr. Poonawala also made Serum Institute the major Vaccine Production unit in the world. I am happy to see that the Government of India honored them with Padma awards. Ramareddy As I recall one of his interview, he said the Indian biotech sector is today worth about USD 7 billion and according to the National Biotechnology Development Strategy, the target is to make it into a USD 100 billion industry by 2025, which he surely can support through his…

This year in 2022, Cyrus Poonawalla again has been conferred Padma Award. He got Padma Shri before in 2005 and thus have joined few elite Indians who consistently are doing for betterment of Indian Biotech and thus getting recognized on national as well as international level. Cyrus Poonawalla’s life is an excellent example of taking challenges and turning it into opportunity. Though he came from a wealthy family background with an established business, yet he took a chance in a completely new domain when the chances of his survival were limited by government policies and he had to struggle for…

Bharat Biotech was the first and only company in India which has made COVAXIN, India‘s indigenous COVID-19 vaccine developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Virology (NIV). The indigenous, inactivated vaccine is developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech‘s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) high containment facility. The vaccine received DCGI approval for Phase I & II Human Clinical Trials and the trials commenced across India from July, 2020. After successful completion of the interim analysis from the Phase 1 & 2 clinical trials of COVAXIN, Bharat Biotech received DCGI approval for Phase 3…

The previous articles in this issue have already mentioned about Dr Krishna Ella and Cyrus Poonawalla. This article discusses about other biotech billionares in the sector, though they are only few as compared to Pharma billionaires. K I Varaprasad Reddy (2005) Dr. K I Varaprasad Reddy is the Founder and currently, the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Shantha Biotechnics Pvt Ltd. An electronics engineer by profession, Dr. Reddy established Shantha Biotech in 1993 with the sole purpose of developing efficacious and cost effective vaccines, within the reach of common man. Shantha Biotechnics’ successful development of recombinant products heralded the…

Prof Rajeev Varshney, an eminent agricultural biotechnologist, with an H index > 100 and ca. 49000 citations has joined Murdoch University on senior leadership positions such as Director, State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre; Director, Centre for Crop & Food Innovation; and International Chair in Agriculture & Food Security. It is a great recognition for India and Indian biotechnology that Australia has picked up an Indian scientist from India to lead their internationally recognised centre for research and development in agriculture and veterinary biotechnology in Western Australia. Professor Varshney served International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) headquartered in India…

Mahima Datla, managing director of Biological E Limited from Hyderabad and B P Acharya, patron of Federation of Asian Biotech Association (FABA) have been conferred with Dr B S Bajaj Memorial FABA Special Award-2022 and FABA Lifetime Achievement Award, respectively for their immense contribution to the biotechnology sector in India. The FABA special awards will be conferred during the 19th edition of BioAsia, the largest annual global biotechnology and life sciences summit of Asia, organised by the Government of Telangana and FABA. The 44-year-old Mahima has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration Management from Webster University, London, has been with Biological…

Hyderabad based start-up, 30M Genomics envisions to improve the molecular biology skills among life science students through development of highly affordable version of thermal cycler. 30M Genomics is incubated at ASPIRE BioNEST, University of Hyderabad and has received financial support from BIRAC, Meity and VFSTR for developing affordable genetic diagnostics. The startup has developed, “Key PCR” which is a bluetooth operated thermal cycler having equivalent performance of a sophisticated thermal cycler. The equipment is portable, weighing less than 600 grams and completely 3D printed with biodegradable material. Thermal cycler or PCR machine, is an indispensable equipment for life sciences research.…

AIIMS, Delhi today announced to discontinue routine COVID-19 testing prior to in-patient hospitalisation and surgeries, news agency ANI reported. AIIMS Medical Superintendent DK Sharma in a letter today said in accordance with current ICMR’s national guidelines, it has been decided to discontinue routine Covid-19 testing prior to inpatient hospitalisations (regular as well as daycare) and also prior to any minor or major surgical or interventional or non-interventional procedures and imaging in clinically asymptomatic patients. His letter states that OPD or emergency patients as well as those patients who were earlier Covid-19 positive and have since recovered & transferred to the parents’ department’s inpatient ward…

“As many as 8,761 people committed suicide due to unemployment, bankruptcy or indebtedness in the year 2020,” Minister of State of Home Affairs Nityanand Rai informed the Rajya Sabha. The Home Ministry also said that in the three years between 2018 and 2020, as many as 25,251 lost their lives because of financial crises. The data assumes significance given that in 2020, the government had told parliament that there was no record of deaths of migrant workers so the “question does not arise” of compensation. Back then, the government’s written response to a question on whether families of those who…