Two international bodies - World Health Organisation and World Economic Forum - have chosen Telangana for setting up their projects at Genome Valley, said KT Rama Rao
Hyderabad: Giving credence to the capabilities of Telangana in the life sciences sector, two international bodies – World Health Organisation and World Economic Forum – have chosen Telangana for setting up their projects at Genome Valley. The details would be formally announced shortly and these include an m-rna project by the World Health Organisation, IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said here on Tuesday.
These come immediately after Gland Pharma announced to invest Rs 400 crore in Telangana to further expand its operations in Genome Valley. Serum Institute of India also announced the establishment of Dr Cyrus Poonawalla Centre of Excellence in infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness in Hyderabad, he said.
Interacting with the media here, the Minister said Telangana would host the 20th edition of industry event BioAsia from February 24 to 26. The event in the last 19 years had hosted thought leaders from over 100 countries. It promoted Hyderabad, Telangana and India as the investment destination for the pharma, health and life sciences sectors reflecting the capabilities of Telangana.
The event, which helped the State realise investments to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore in the past editions, had facilitated more than 20,000 meetings and resulted in many letters of intent (LoIs), bilateral cooperation agreements, and MoUs apart from 30 knowledge papers and policy recommendations, he said.
Invest India also showcased BioAsia as a benchmark to all the States in ‘creating exclusive and branded platforms’. Switzerland, Norway, Thailand, Korea, Argentina, Spain, UK, Germany, South Africa and others have participated in the event with large ministerial and industrial delegations. It also saw participation from Nobel Laureates, Food Laureates, Lasker Award winners, Breakthrough Prize winners and others.
The Genome Valley Excellence Award this year will be presented to Prof Robert Langer for his contribution to research on mRNA technology. The theme for this year is `Advancing for ONE – Shaping the next generation of humanised healthcare’. It will see participation from 50 countries with the UK as the partner country and Flanders as the international partner region. Delegations are coming from Estonia, South Africa, Vietnam, Switzerland and others.
The event will also see 175 exhibitors. It will host an `Innovative Zone’ for startups, which received 400 nominations and of them 75 got shortlisted.
IT and Industries Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan and Telangana Life Sciences Director Shakti Nagappan were also present.
(Novartis CEO)
He has been CEO of Novartis since 2018. He joined Novartis in 2005 and held leadership roles of Global Head of Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, and Global Head of Development for Novartis Vaccines. He also focused on pediatric vaccines and cell and gene therapies. Earlier, he worked in the areas of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in India, Africa and South America. He recently has assumed the role of chair of The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). The Hyderabad centre has 9,000 people. Bulk of the workforce is in technology areas.
(Prof at MIT and Moderna Co-Founder),
He co-founded Covid19 vaccine maker Moderna and his innovations have helped create more than 100 products from artificial skin to messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. He is an American chemical engineer, scientist, entrepreneur, inventor and one of the twelve Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Langer holds over 1,400 granted or pending patents. He is one of the world’s most highly cited researchers and with currently over 381,489 citations. He is widely recognised especially in the fields of drug delivery systems and tissue engineering.
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations CEO
He is an American oncologist and epidemiologist who has been serving as chief executive officer of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) in Oslo and London since 2017. Under Hatchett’s leadership, CEPI funded early development of COVID-19 candidate vaccines. CEPI also teamed up with the African union to fund African vaccine production. Together with Seth Berkley, he developed the concept for COVAX in early 2020.
(Apple VP- Health)
Desai oversees health initiatives including clinical product development, innovative clinical partnerships and medical research. She also leads the regulatory and quality teams at Apple. Apple is also working with the best in the medical field, including Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the American Heart Association, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Johns Hopkins University, to conduct landmark health studies and advance discovery with the ResearchKit and CareKit platforms.
(Bristol Myers Squibb Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer)
Hirawat oversees the Global Drug Development organization, including late-stage asset development, as well as Global Regulatory and Safety, Global Biometrics, Global Development Operations and Research and Development Strategy and Planning. His team moves promising new drug candidates through the development pipeline from proof-of concept to market. Before joining BMS, he led oncology development and other clinical development programmes at several other pharmaceutical companies.
UNICEF Representative to India
She has expertise in championing the cause of children and women. She served in UNICEF Headquarters as Director, Office of Innovation. Prior to India, McCaffrey was the UNICEF Representative to China. She provides leadership and strategic direction of the UNICEF India Country Programme in achieving results for children.
Associate Commissioner for Global Policy and Strategy (USFDA)
He provides executive oversight, and policy direction to FDA’s global policy, operations, trade, and diplomacy activities. He joined FDA in 2013 as the inaugural director of the Office of Public Health and Trade. In 2015 he took up the role of Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Policy and in 2017 became Deputy Commissioner for Global Regulatory Operations and Policy (acting).
Member, NITI Aayog
Dr Paul is a globally recognised medical scientist and a public health exponent. He served on the faculty of the Department of Paediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, from 1985 to 2020. At NITI, he leads the Health, Nutrition and HRD verticals. He has played a pivotal role in the formulation of key initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY, Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre Scheme, and POSHAN Abhiyaan. Dr Paul is part of the union Government’s core team for Covid-19 pandemic response. He chairs the Empowered Group on Medical Infrastructure and Covid Management Plan, the National Task Force on Covid-19 (ICMR) as well as the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC). He has over 400 scientific publications.
Chairman, Piramal Group
The conglomerate has interests in pharmaceutical, financial services, real estate, healthcare analytics and glass packaging. Ajay Piramal started out in his family’s textile business but went on to build a pharma empire through acquisitions. Piramal inked his biggest deal in 2010 when he sold his domestic formulations business to Abbott Labs for $3.8 billion.
Chairman, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
Reddy joined Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in 1993 as executive director. Elevated to the role of Managing Director in 1997, he led the company’s transition from a manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients to one with a diverse product portfolio of finished dosage formulations. He was also responsible for establishing a strong footprint of Dr. Reddy’s finished dosage products in Russia, CIS countries and other emerging markets.