KTR pitches for life sciences technology corridor between Hyderabad, Bengaluru
Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of Syngene Scientific Solutions Limited’s research laboratory at Genome Valley, the Minister pointed out that Hyderabad and Bengaluru excel in distinct domains.
Hyderabad: Stressing that Hyderabad and Bengaluru rule the roost when it comes to biology and technology, Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Thursday pitched for a life sciences/technology corridor between the two cities.
Politics can happen in the last six months at the time of an election. In the remaining four and half years, good economics was good politics as long as the focus was on wealth creation, he said at the groundbreaking ceremony of Syngene Scientific Solutions Limited’s research laboratory at Genome Valley here on Thursday.
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Stating that though Hyderabad and Bengaluru compete in different fields, fact was that he liked Bengaluru as much as he did Hyderabad.
“We have it in us to collaborate and to complement each other’s efforts and grow together for the betterment of India,” Rama Rao said.
Remarking that politics was not a great field to be in especially in terms of dealing with the kind of demands and challenges encountered on a day-to-day basis, he said that however a lot was being done, and in the last two years alone, the life sciences sector in Telangana had grown at 23 per cent against the national average of 14 percent. Half a million jobs were created since the formation of the State and the vision was to further expand this ecosystem and make Hyderabad a $250 billion enterprise by 2030.
“I always get energetic and enthusiastic after meeting and speaking to Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. She is a shining example to many young men and women for what she has done in a nascent field,” Rama Rao said.
Thanking Syngene for selecting Hyderabad for an investment of over Rs.800 crore, the Minister said this was just the beginning of what would be a great story. This investment was not about just brick and mortar but about confidence that Syngene has in Hyderabad’s potential as a hub for cutting edge research and development in life sciences sector, he said.
From a modest beginning in 2020 with 52,000 square foot facility and 100 scientists, Syngene has now grown four times to an impressive two lakh square feet and houses more than 900 scientists. This was testimony to the availability of wonderful talent in Hyderabad, he said.
Syngene’s scientists in Hyderabad play a pivotal role in designing and synthesizing new chemical entities, which can potentially become the next gen of lifesaving drugs. Their work has global impact on healthcare and we are proud that all this was happening in Hyderabad, the Minister said.
Hyderabad serves more than 1000 innovators globally through companies like Syngene and many others, who made the city their hub for R&D. About 90 per cent of the workforce at Syngene’s Hyderabad’s facility hails from Telangana, the Minister said.
He said Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s advice to industries department has always been to take care of the existing investors and that they would become the State’s biggest brand ambassadors and champions.
In Telangana, the industries, academia and others were working together with a singular goal of further strengthening our relevance in the global life sciences industry, besides serving as a torchbearer of cutting edge technology and innovation, he said.
“I also appeal to Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to consider Hyderabad for expansion of Biocon Biologics and Immuneel,” Rama Rao said, sharing that in the last three months, half a dozen investments were received in regenerative medicine, cell and gene therapy etc.
Telangana approved 24,000 applications in the last eight years under TS-Ipass and created more than 2.4 million direct job potential and attracted 50 billon dollars investments, he said.
“All this was achieved without conducting a single investment summit. We just focused on getting the work done and relied on our existing investors,” Rama Rao said.
Stressing on the need to invest in education and skilling, the Minister wanted the Biocon Group to collaborate with State government in academics as a life sciences university was being launched shortly.
