Biotechnology has been used for thousands of years to produce improved food and healthcare, beginning when early humans domesticated plants and animals. Modern biotechnology applies techniques such as genetic engineering to organisms on a molecular level. Key developments include understanding that DNA carries genetic information, determining the genetic code, and being able to splice genes between organisms. Biotechnology now involves engineering crops for improved nutrition, developing new medicines through microbial fermentation, and manipulating DNA in many other applications.

2. What is biotechnology?
• Biotechnology = bios (life) + logos (study of or
essence)
– Literally ‘the study of tools from living things’
• CLASSIC: The word "biotechnology" was first used in
1917 to describe processes using living organisms to
make a product or run a process, such as industrial
fermentations. (robert Bud, The Uses of Life: A
History of Biotechnology)
• LAYMAN: Biotechnology began when humans began
to plant their own crops, domesticate animals,
ferment juice into wine, make cheese, and leaven
bread (Acess Excellence)

3. What is biotechnology?
• GENENTECH: Biotechnology is the process of
harnessing 'nature's own' biochemical tools to make
possible new products and processes and provide
solutions to society's ills (G. Kirk Raab, Former
President and CEO of Genentech)
• WEBSTER’S: The aspect of technology concerned
with the application of living organisms to meet the
needs and ends of man.
• WALL STREET: Biotechnology is the application of
genetic engineering and DNA technology to produce
therapeutic and medical diagnostic products and
processes. Biotech companies have one thing in
common - the use of genetic engineering and
manipulation of organisms at a molecular level.

4. What is biotechnology?
• Using scientific methods with organisms to produce
new products or new forms of organisms
• Any technique that uses living organisms or
substances from those organisms or substances from
those organisms to make or modify a product, to
improve plants or animals, or to develop
microorganisms for specific uses

5. What is biotechnology?
• Biotechnology is a multidisciplinarian in nature,
involving input from
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Engineering
Computer Science
Cell and Molecular Biology
Microbiology
Genetics
Physiology
Biochemistry
Immunology
Virology
Recombinant DNA Technology  Genetic manipulation
of bacteria, viruses, fungi, plants and animals, often for
the development of specific products

6. History of Biotechnology
• The term “biotecnology" was coined in 1919
by Karl Ereky, an Hungarian engineer
• Traditional biotechnology has been used for
thousands of years to produce improved food
and health care products. Today, modern
biotechnology enables us to develop improved
products more safely and more rapidly than
ever before.
• Biotechnology in one form or another has
flourished since prehistoric times.

7. What are the stages of biotechnology?
• Ancient Biotechnology
• early history as related to food and shelter,
including domestication
• Classical Biotechnology
• built on ancient biotechnology
• fermentation promoted food production
• medicine
• Modern Biotechnology
• manipulates genetic information in organism
• genetic engineering

8. Ancient biotechnology
Fermented foods and beverages
• Long history of fermented foods since people
began to settle (9000 BC) (fervere –to boil)
• Often discovered by accident!
• Improved flavor and texture
• Deliberate contamination with bacteria or
fungi (molds)
• Examples:
•Bread
•Yogurt
•Sour cream
•Cheese
•Wine
•Beer
•Sauerkraut

9. Ancient biotechnology
Fermented foods and beverages
• Dough not baked immediately would undergo
spontaneous fermentation  would rise 
Eureka!!
• Uncooked fermented dough could be used to
ferment a new batch  no longer reliant on
“chance fermentation”
• 1866 – Louis Pasteur published his findings on
the direct link between yeast and sugars  CO2 +
ethanol (anaerobic process)
• 1915 – Production of baker’s yeast –
Saccharomyces cerevisiae

10. Classical biotechnology
Industry today exploits early discoveries of the fermentation
process for production of huge numbers of products
•Different types of beer
•Vinegar
•Glycerol
•Acetone
•Butanol
•Lactic acid
•Citric acid
•Antibiotics – WWII (Bioreactor developed for large
scale production, e.g. penicilin made by fermentation
of penicillium)
•Today many different antibiotics are produced by
microorganisms
•Cephalosporins, bacitracin, neomycin,
tetracycline……..)

11. Classical biotechnology
Chemical transformations to produce therapeutic
products
• Substrate  + Microbial Enzyme  Product
• Examples:
• Cholesterol  Steroids (cortisone, estrogen,
progesterone) (hydroxylation reaction  -OH
group added to cholesterol ring)

12. Classical biotechnology
Microbial synthesis of other commercially valuable
products
• Amino acids to improve food taste, quality or
preservation
• Enzymes (cellulase, collagenase, diastase,
glucose isomerase, invertase, lipase, pectinase,
protease)
• Vitamins
• Pigments

13. Modern biotechnology
• Cell biology
• Structure, organization and reproduction
• Biochemistry
• Synthesis of organic compounds
• Cell extracts for fermentation (enzymes
versus whole cells)
• Genetics
• Resurrection of Gregor Mendel’s findings  1866 
1900s
• Theory of Inheritance (ratios dependent on traits of
parents)
• Theory of Transmission factors
• W.H. Sutton – 1902
• Chromosomes = inheritance factors
• T.H. Morgan – Drosophila melanogaster

14. Modern biotechnology
Molecular Biology
• Beadle and Tatum (Neurospora crassa)
• One gene, one enzyme hypothesis
• Charles Yanofsky  colinearity
between mutations in genes and amino
acid sequence (E. coli)
• Genes determine structure of proteins
• Hershey and Chase – 1952
• T2 bacteriophage – 32P DNA, not 35S protein
is the material that encodes genetic
information

15. Modern biotechnology
• Watson, Crick, Franklin and Wilkins (1953)
• X-ray crystallography
• 1962 – Nobel Prize awarded to three men
• Chargaff – DNA base ratios
• Structural model of DNA developed
• DNA Revolution – Promise and Controversy!!!
• Scientific foundation of modern biotechnology
• based on knowledge of DNA, its replication,
repair and use of enzymes to carry out in vitro
splicing DNA fragments

16. Modern biotechnology
• Breaking the Genetic Code – Finding the Central
Dogma
• An “RNA Club” organized by George Gamow (1954)
assembled to determine the role of RNA in protein
synthesis
• Vernon Ingram’s research on sickle cell anemia (1956)
tied together inheritable diseases with protein structure
• Link made between amino acids and DNA
• Radioactive tagging experiments demonstrate
intermediate between DNA and protein = RNA
• RNA movement tracked from nucleus to cytoplasm  site of
protein synthesis

17. Modern biotechnology
• DNA

Transcription
RNA

Protein
Translation
Genetic code determined for all 20 amino acids by
Marshal Nirenberg and Heinrich Matthaei and Gobind
Khorana – Nobel Prize – 1968
• 3 base sequence = codon

18. Biotechnology Timeline
1750 BC
The Sumerians brew beer.
500 BC
Chinese use moldy soybean
curds as an antibiotic to treat
boils
1590
Janssen invents the microscope
1675
Leeuwenhoek discovers cells
(bacteria, red blood cells)
1830
Proteins are discovered
1833
The first enzymes are isolated
1855
The Eschirium coli bacterium
is discovered

19. Biotechnology Timeline
1859
Charles Darwin publishes On
the Origin of Species
1864
Louis Pasteur shows all living
things are produced by other
living things
1865
The age of genetics begins
1902
Walter Sutton coins the term
‘gene’ - proposed that
chromosomes carry genes

20. Biotechnology Timeline
1910
Chromosomal theory of
inheritance proved
1928
Fleming discovers antibiotic
properties of certain molds
1941
George Beadle and Edward Tatum propose
that one gene makes one protein
1949
Sickle cell anaemia demonstrated to be
molecular disease

21. Biotechnology Timeline
1952
The ‘Waring Blender’
experiment
1953
unravelled
The double helix is
1967
The genetic code is cracked
1973
Recombinant DNA
technology begins
1975
First international conference
on recombinant DNA
technology

22. Biotechnology Timeline
1975
DNA sequencing discovered
1975
Monoclonal antibody
technology introduced
1978
Genentech Inc. established
1978
Genentech use genetic engineering to produce
human insulin in E.coli - 1980 IPO of $89
1978
Kary Mullis discovers PCR

23. Biotechnology Timeline
1989
The Human Genome Project begins
1990
First use of gene therapy
1990
First product of recombinant
DNA technology introduced
into US food chain
1993
FDA announces that
transgenic food is safe
1994
The FLAVRSAVR tomato first genetically engineered
whole food

24. Biotechnology Timeline
1996
First mammal cloned from adult
cells
1990s
First conviction using genetic
fingerprinting
1996
Development of Affymetrix
GeneChip
1997
First artificial chromosome

25. History of Biotechnology
1998
Human embryonic stem cells
grown
1999
Celera announces completion
of Drosophilia genome
sequence
2000
90% of Human Genome
sequence published on web
2001
Human genome project
complete

26. GM Crops World-wide
 Over
30 GM Crops.
 Including the following: maize, wheat, soya beans,
papaya,
raspberries, tomatoes, canola, potatoes,
peppers, cabbage, cucumber, squash, cotton,
grapes, carrots and chicory.
Trees, turf, flowers

27. GLOBAL AREA OF GM CROPS
Global Arear of GM Crops, 1996 to 2001
60
50
39.9
40
1
2
3
27.8
30
4
20
10
44.2
50
11
5
1.7
6
0
1
2
3
4
5
YEARS
30 FOLD INCREASE SINCE 1996
Source: Clive James, ISAAA
6

28. Where are we with GM crops world
wide?
 GM crop planting globally increased by 11% in
2000 and >10% in 2001. It has slowed down due
to slow development of new markets and lack of
products with consumer benefit
 More developing countries are commericalising
and investing in crop biotech
 China wants to be the Asian centre of excellence
 Between 1997 and 1999 China approved 26
applications for commercialisation of GMOs, 59
for environmental releases and 73 for field trials

29. India
increasing investment
in genomics and biotech ($85
million on genomics in next 5
years)

30. Genetic Engineering Example:
 Researchers at Jawaharlal Nehru University in India have developed a genetically
engineered potato that produces about one-third to one-half more protein than
usual, including substantial amounts of all the essential amino acids.
 Protein deficiency is widespread in India and potato is the staple food of the
poorest people.
 The “protato” was developed by a coalition of Indian charities, scientists,
government institutes and industry as part of a 15-year campaign against
childhood mortality.
 The campaign aims to eliminate childhood mortality by providing children with
clean water, better food and vaccines.
 The protato includes a gene from the amaranth plant, a high-protein grain that is
native to South America and widely sold in Western health-food stores.
 The protato has passed preliminary field trials and tests for allergens and toxins.
 Final approval from the Indian Government is probably at least five years away.

31. Number of health-biotechnology papers
published by developing countries
Blooming Biotech
South Korea
China
India
Brazil
South Africa
Cuba
Egypt
0
50
100
150
1991
200
250
300
350
2002
Source: The Economist – Dec 11, 2004; Institute for Scientific Information; Science Matrix
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32. Number of health-biotechnology patents
(Major developing countries) issued by US in 2003
India
South Korea
China
Brazil
Cuba
South Africa
Egypt
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Source: The Economist – Dec 11, 2004; Institute for Scientific Information; United States Patent and Trademark Office
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33. Agriculture Biotechnology - Crops
Focus :
- Improved Productivity
- Drought, Salinity Tolerance
- Reduced Yield due to Pests/Diseases
- Nutritional Enhancement
Crops :
- Rice, Wheat, Cotton, Mustard , Chickpea, Potato
Pigeonpea, Mungbean, Sugarcane
Strategy :
- Transgenics & Marker based Molecular Breeding
- Cloning and Characterization of New Genes and
Promoters
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34. Crops
Wheat Rust: Durable resistance to leaf and stripe rusts using
molecular marker technology in bread wheat (DWR,DWR-RS,
PAU, ARI & NCL)
Rice: Salinity and dehydration stress tolerance: Cloning of
responsive genes, their promoters and development of
transgenics (ICGEB, UDSC, IARI, BI, UOH)
Sugarcane: 12,956 EST’s generated and deposited in genbank.
9000 genomic clones and several thousand cDNA clones
developed from high sugar and red-rot resistant lines
Crop Improvement for Better Nutrition in rice, sweet potato and
cassava using AmA1 Gene
Use of molecular marker technology approach in wheat quality
breeding
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35. Transgenic Research in India
Target Crops/ Vegetables
Cotton, Corn, Mustard, Rice, Soybean, Potato,
Tobacco, Coffee, Tomato, Brinjal, Cauliflower, Pea,
Cabbage, Banana, Muskmelon, Pigeonpea, Chickpea,
Bell-pepper, Blackgram, Chilli, Watermelon etc.
Transgenes Employed
Bt. toxin genes, Herbicide tolerant genes (CP4 EPSPS,
Bar gene), Xa21, ctx-B and tcp of V.cholera, Chitinase,
Glucanase, ACC synthase, RIP, Protease Inhibitor,
Lectin, Ama-1, OXDC gene, Rabies glycoprotein gene,
Bar, Barnase, Barstar, GNA gene, Vip-3 gene, Bacterial
Blight Resistance gene, Osmotin etc.
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36. Transgenic Crops under Trial
• Under green house trial
: 19
• Under limited field trial
: 3
(Rice, Mungbean, Mustard)
• Large scale field trial
: 1
(Cotton)
• Released for commercial production : 1
(Cotton)
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37. Plant Biotechnology
– Areas : Forestry, Horticulture & Plantation Crops
– Status
• 57 regeneration systems documented
• Protocols standardized for 20 plant species, 10 technologies
transferred to industry – Eucalyptus, Bamboo, Teak, Sugarcane,
Potato, Black pepper, Coffee, Citrus
• Ongoing R&D - Transgenics
– Tomato, Grapes, Banana - shelf life
– Chilli, Pepper, Ginger, Cardamom – Disease resistance
– Populus, leucaena - reduced lignin
• Germplasm characterization – Teak, Eucalyptus, Casurina
– International Solanaceae Genome initiative launched
• India to sequence chromosome 5 of tomato
• Functional genomics of tomato – nutritional quality, shelf life,
disease resistance
– Production and demonstration of quality planting material of Bamboo
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38. Tomato Genome Sequencing
1
2
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
26
Mb* 24
3
26
19
11
20
27
17
16
10
13
11 T=220
24-Jan-06
Italy (funded)
USA (funded)
USA (funded)
Spain (funded)
USA (funded)
France (funded)
India (?)
UK (pending)
China (pending)
USA (funded)
Long arm
Korea (pending)
Centromere
The Netherlands (funded)
Short arm
euchromatin
Eu
Japan
India
heterochromatin
AT-rich satellite DNA
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39. Animal Biotechnology
– Diagnostics for Peste-des-Petitis
Ruminants (PPR) detection
commercialized
– Reconstituted Bovine collagen for wound
and burn healing commercialized
– Multicentric programme on buffalo
genomics launched : Characterisation of
traits of economic importance
– Multicentric programme on bovine
tuberculosis
– Programme on animal nutrition
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40. Aquaculture & Marine
Bacterial immunostimulant for shrimp health management developed
Bioreactor system developed for water quality management in prawn hatchery
New source of insulin from carp adipose tissue
Quality agar extracted from seaweed (Gelidiella acerosa)
Efficacy of DNA-based vaccine for Aeromonas infection in carps under
evaluation
Shrimp Genomics launched – Comparative and functional genomics
Diagnostics and vaccines transferred to industry
• Immunodiagnostic kit for detection of bacterial pathogens in finfish and
shellfish
• Combi kit for simultaneous detection of White Spot Shrimp Virus and
Monodon Baculo Virus
• Heat killed whole cell vibrio vaccine, shows immune response in shrimp
• Immunodot detection kit for white spot shrimp virus
Technology ready for transfer
• Bioreactor technology in shrimp hatcheries through bacterial
conservation for denitrification
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41. Seribiotechnology
• Improved quality and productivity in silk
– Silkworm genome sequencing
– Over 400 molecular markers generated
– India participating in International Consortium on Lepidopteran
Genomics: More than 10,000 ESTs of muga silkworm and mori
silkworm characterized
• Three high yielding hybrids of silkworm released to farmers
• Network projects initiated for use of molecular markers in breeding
of disease-resistant silkworm and pest- and disease-resistant
mulberry
• Molecular characteriztion of non-mulberry silkworm (Tasar, muga,
eri)
• Spider silk
– Biophysical properties of spider silk proteins produced by
Indian species
– Sourcing of spider silk genes and expression in Bombyx mori
– Prospecting of Indian spiders venom for therapeutic purposes
– Application of nanobiotechnology to spider silk
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42. Medicinal & Aromatic Plants
• Four national gene banks established - about 3500 accessions
• Two specialized germplasm banks set up for plants used in Indian
System of Medicines
• Production of high value therapeutic compounds in cell culture
(Podophyllotoxin, guggulsterones Z&E, camptothecin and azadirachtin)
• Isolation and characterization of new thereapeutic leads (for anticancer,
antiamoebic, antidiabetic, bioenhancers, immunomodulatory).
• Clinical trial of standardized herbal preparations - Terminalia arjuna – left
ventricular dysfunction
• Five technologies transferred to industry; several other leads under
discussion with industry
• Herbals for veterinary health care - priorities identified
• Functional genomics of selected medicinal and aromatic plants
• Plants as bioreactor for production of biomolecules (antigens for cholera,
rabies), antibodies for therapeutics and industrial enzymes
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43. Biofertilizers
24-Jan-06
• 23,000 ha demonstrated for use of
biofertilizers; 50,000 farmers benefited
• 10 packages for Integrated Nutrient
Management developed for specific
cropping system of varied agroclimatic
zones
• A network project on development of
efficient strains of biofertilisers launched at
11 centres
• Liquid biofertilizer technology
– being developed
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44. Biopesticides
• Technology Development and Demonstration
– 24 Integrated Pest Management technology
packages developed; 7 transferred to industry
– Over 150,000 ha covered in different
agroclimatic zones; 65,000 farmers benefited
– Insect sex pheromones successfully
synthesized and field-tested for the mass
trapping of brinjal shoot and fruit borer
– More than 615 plant extracts prospected as
source of pesticides; 11 promising leads short
listed for further investigation
• Product Development
– ‘Bioprahar’: biopesticide (for cabbage and
cauliflower) developed by ICGEB, launched
commercially (2004)
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45. Bioprospecting
– Bioprospecting of genes / molecules –
• 96 stress related genes identified, characterized and
cloned, salt resistance gene transferred to rice and mung
bean, field trials of transgenic rice being conducted
• Product development –
– Microbial biofertilizers for coastal region
– Biopesticide for bollworm (Helicoverpa)
– SOD antioxidant – skin cream
– Over 4000 plant species from Western Himalayas and
Western ghats screened for natural dyes; nine short listed as
potential sources
– Network project on lac biotechnology initiated
– Chemical and genetic profiling, conservation –
6 endangered medicinal plant species
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46. Microbial Diversity
– Arid Zones : 48 Saline tolerant algal species, screened for pigment
production, soil conditioning and nitrogen fixation
– Cold Habitats : > 100 bacterial species isolated from soil and water
samples from Antarctica
– Hot Springs and sulfur springs : > 150 Actinomycetes species isolated,
potential rifamycin producer identified
– Hydrocarbon contaminated Sites : 12 oil refineries screened, > 350
bacteria species isolated, thermophilic Bacterial consortium developed for
enhancing Oil recovery from Oil wells
– Marine Sources: > 500 Bacterial isolates screened for secondary
metabolites, benzoate and phenol degraders identified
– Forest Belts: Virgin ecosystems, novel entomopathogenic and keratinolytic
fungi Isolated and identified
– Enhancement of Oil Recovery from dead Oil wells - Bacterial Consortium
developed which on being injected in sick oil wells under high pressure
leads to oil recovery, tested in 25 Oil Wells of ONGC, helped in extraction
of 4500 cubic meters of oil worth US$675000
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47. Environment Biotechnology
• Conservation of endangered animals – especially big
cats – through embryo transfer technology and tissue
banking
• Use of lichens as indicators of environmental pollution
• Bioremediation of degraded ecosystems
• Green technologies to treat industrial effluents (paper
& pulp, dyes, distilleries, tanneries etc)
• Bioscrubber for removal of obnoxious industrial
emissions
• 14 technology packages developed; 5 under use by
industry
• Programme on microbial approaches to combat global
warming
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48. Medical Biotechnology
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
24-Jan-06
Vaccines
Diagnostics
Therapeutics
Stem Cell Technology
Biomedical Engineering
Nanomedicines
Clinical Trials and Clinical Research
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49. Vaccines
• Rabies
: DNA vaccine, phase III animal
trials
completed.
• Cholera
: Recombinant oral vaccine, Phase
II
trial.
• Malaria
: Phase I clinical trials initiated.
• Rotavirus : Phase I clinical trials underway
• JEV
: Vaccine technology transferred to
industry
• HIV/AIDS
: DNA candidate for subtype ‘C’
developed
• Anthrax
: Phase III clinical trials initiated.
• Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis : Commercialised
(cattle)
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50. Diagnostics
Transferred to the
Industries & Launched
in the Market :
Western Blot for HIV-I & II :
HIV/AIDS
Naked Eye Agglutination :
HIV/AIDS
System (NEVA)
ELISA
: Hepatitis ‘C’
ELISA
: Leishmaniasis
ELISA
: Alpha-feto
Protein
(Pregnant
Women)
Transferred, yet to be
launched :
IgM Mac ELISA
Encephalitis
: Dengue
Japanese
West Nile
IgM – ELISA
: Hepatitis ‘A’
Urine Based ELISA : Reproductive
Under Development &
Negotiations
for Transfer :
DAT
: Toxoplasmosis
Haemagglutination Assay :
Leishmaniasis
IFA
: Rabies
Species Specific Tests : Snake
Bites
PCR Assay
: Tuberculosis
Multiplex PCR : STD
PCR
: Leptospirosis
In-vitro Assay : Anti-Inflammatory
Drugs
Immunochromatogrpahy/ :
Tuberculosis
/ ELISA Assay
PCR Assay
: Typhoid
Hormones
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51. Biotech Products in Indian market
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
24-Jan-06
r DNA Hep ‘B’ vaccine
Recombinant streptokinase
Erythropoietin
α, β, γ – interferon
Haemophilus influenzae B vaccine
Human insulin
Human Growth Hormone
Human Interleukin
Streptokinase
Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor
Follicle Stimulating Hormone
Tissue Plasminogen Activator
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52. Indian Biotechnology Industry
Number of biotech companies
: 300
Global ranking in terms biotech companies : 11
Investment growth in last 5 years
: 50 % per
annum
Annual Turnover (Apr 04 – Mar 05) : US $ 1.07 Billion
Annual increase
: 37 %
Percentage of global business
(2004-05)
: 1.6 %
(2003-04)
: 1.5 %
(2002-03)
: 1.2 %
Exports
: 43 %
Major areas : Biopharma, Bioservices, Bioindustries,
Bioagriculture, bioinformatics, Biosupplies
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