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 E since 2001. Founded in 1948 by her grandfathers as Biological Products Pvt Ltd, the company started out by manufacturing Heparin, a drug to prevent blood clots.
Mahima Datla is named for the FABA award for introducing Corbevax vaccine, which is regarded as India’s indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine. Corbevax is a protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine developed by Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and Dynavax technologies based in Emeryville California. It is licensed to Indian biopharmaceutical firm Biological E. Limited (BioE) for development and production.
According to experts, Corbevax is a recombinant vaccine, developed from the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein on the virus’s surface combined with Dynavax’s CpG 1018 adjuvant with alum, which helps the body build the immune response against the virus. The protein is produced by the yeast Pichia pastoris; the process is similar to that of existing Hepatitis B vaccines.
Prof. Reddanna, executive president, FABA while speaking at the announcement of the awards, said, “The Dr B S Bajaj Memorial Award is a distinction bestowed on the individual or organization most committed to the advancement of Life Sciences. The contributions made by Biological E under the abled leadership of Mahima Datla are conscientiously recognized and commended by the biotechnology fraternity. Their vaccine, Corbevax being scalable and affordable to the low-middle income countries, makes Biological E the most promising candidate for this award”.
B. P. Acharya (born 30 October 1960) is a senior officer of the 1983 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS). On his retirement in 2020, he was Director General for MCR HRD Institute of Telangana and also Special Chief Secretary in General Administration Department for Telangana State.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 2021 has appointed retired Telangana bureaucrat BP Acharya, as the advisor of the National Animal Resource Facility for Bio Medical Research (NARFBR) that is coming up over an area of 100 acres at the Genome valley near Shamirpet.
Acharya had served as the Special Chief Secretary in before retirement and also as the DG of MCRHRD Institute of Telangana. The ICMR said that this appointment is in recognition of Acharya’s efforts to create the world-class life sciences cluster in the Genome Valley and his contribution to the sector. The NARFBR project is being developed with an investment of Rs 300 crore and will cater to the pharma and biopharma/vaccine industry in the country in their pre-clinical animal trials.
As Secretary, Industries and Commerce, he was involved in creating Genome Valley on the outskirts of Hyderabad and many such industrial clusters.[6] After retirement, he was appointed as advisor to the Indian Council of Medical Research for their National Animal Resource Facility for Biomedical Research in Genome Valley.
Adding further Reddanna also hailed the services rendered by B P Acharya, who has been conferred with FABA Lifetime Achievement Award and said that Acharya has been serving as advisor to ICMR for the National Animal Resource Facility for Biomedical Research (NARFBR) ever since the time of his retirement from MHRD in 2020 and his coordinating efforts and initiatives taken up by him during the regime of government of Andhra Pradesh are commendable as it has helped develop the concrete base for the Genome Valley and Biotech Sector in Hyderabad.
It is also learnt that B P Acharya’s efforts have enabled the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh state achieve the ‘Bio State of the Year 2003’ Award, 19 years ago and from then onwards the Biotechnology sector in Hyderabad has grown to become the global vaccine manufacturing hub in India.
About FABA
Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA), established in 2005, is a non-profit organization created to provide a global platform for the development of biotechnology across the globe, particularly in Asian countries.
The mission of FABA is to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the biotech industry, academia, and healthcare sector. For more than 15 years, FABA has been fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and government, thus promoting investments in biotechnology and related fields. FABA promotes collaboration between academia and industries engaged in Biotechnology among the member countries in Asia.
Know more: https://biofaba.org.in
