Indian biotech industry growing, but at slower pace

August 3rd, 2009 KOLKATA - Emami Biotech, belonging to the Rs.2,000-crore Emami group, will invest Rs.400 crore (around $80 million) in a jatropha plantation project in Oromia in Ethiopia over the next six years, a top company official said here Monday. "We have already acquired around 30,000 acres and work has begun for jatropha cultivation.

August 3rd, 2009 Cardinal Health buys imaging company BiotechDUBLIN, Ohio — Cardinal Health Inc. said Monday it agreed to buy radiologic imaging company Biotech for an undisclosed amount.

July 31st, 2009 Stocks mostly rise as GDP shrinks at slower paceNEW YORK — Traders used good news about the economy Friday to give the Dow Jones industrials their best July in 20 years. Stocks closed mostly higher Friday after the government said the economy shrank at a slower pace than expected in the April-June quarter.

July 14th, 2009 Price of white paint component dips at slower paceWASHINGTON — The price of a key ingredient in white paint is declining at a slower pace, a signal that the weakness in housing and factory activity should let up a bit. Titanium dioxide prices fell 4.6 percent over the 12 months ending in June, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

July 7th, 2009 Pfizer ends plan San Francisco biotech facilityNEW YORK — Pfizer Inc. is pulling a plan to staff a biotechnology research center in San Francisco and will keep its 100 area employees in South San Francisco.

July 5th, 2009 BANGALORE - As a sunrise industry, the biotechnology sector is looking up to the national budget, to be presented in parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday, for a fillip in times of global recession and slowdown in the Indian economy. The government must incentivise R&D (research and development), especially in the biotechnology sector by providing a tax holiday for five years on any new product developed in-house, Biocon India chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw told IANS here.

June 18th, 2009 BANGALORE - India will soon have a regulatory authority for the biotech sector, Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan said here Thursday. "We are setting up a national biotechnology regulatory authority in partnership with the industry," Chavan said, unveiling the ninth edition of Bangalore Bio 2009, South Asia' premier biotech event that has attracted 110 firms from 15 countries apart from India.

June 11th, 2009 FTC pans biotech demands for generic competitionWASHINGTON — The biotechnology industry's demand for up to 14 years of competition-free marketing before cheaper copies of their drugs can be launched is unnecessary and would discourage development of new treatments, the Federal Trade Commission told lawmakers Thursday. As the administration accelerates its push to reform U.S.

June 8th, 2009 Top Democrat pushes for action on biotech drugsWASHINGTON — As the Obama administration renews its health care reform effort on Capitol Hill, a top Democrat is calling for speedy action on a yearslong effort to create generic competition for costly biotech drugs. President Barack Obama used his weekly radio address on Saturday to call on Congress to act on his proposal to overhaul the nation's health care system.

May 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma today said that the Government would take every possible step to stabilise industrial production. Talking to reporters here, Sharma said, "In the present climate, when economies across the world have been adversely affected and there is continuous fall in demand, we would like to ensure that every possible step is taken to ensure that industrial output remains stable." Sharma is taking charge of the trade ministry at a time when India's exports have suffered a severe setback due to the global downturn.

May 28th, 2009 KOLKATA - The franchise business industry in India is hopeful of high growth in the coming years despite the global economic downturn, an industry representative said here Thursday. "The franchise business in India has huge potential and we think it will grow to a large extent in next five years," Indian Franchise Association (IFA) executive director Upendra Sachdev told IANS on the sidelines of a seminar.

May 5th, 2009 Report: Financial Crisis could reshape biotechNEW YORK — The U.S. biotech industry became profitable as a whole for the first time in 2008, a new report says, but the global financial crisis has led to a pullback in the investment that drives the industry's expensive research.

March 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India-Pakistan trade is likely to see a 60 percent decline in 2009-10, with the overall trade falling from $2 billion to $900 million in the coming months on account of the current turmoil in the neighbouring country, says an industry lobby. A quick survey conducted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) among exporters and importers doing business with Pakistan reported that they were unwilling to travel across the border to conclude even the firmed-up deals.

February 17th, 2009 BANGALORE - The central government would fund the setting up of a Bio-IT facility in India's tech hub to conduct research in genome sequencing and analysis, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said Wednesday.

February 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's service sector could see slower growth, said a Confederation of India Industry (CII) report released here Sunday. According to CII, recent data on specific service sector activities gives a mixed picture - while there has been a sharp drop in indicators such as tourist arrivals or air freight and passenger movements, railway traffic and cellular subscriber growth have been holding up.