Day 2 of BioAsia: International commitment to Life Sciences Industry Elevates Importance of Tech to Accelerate Innovation

Hyderabad: The 20th edition of BioAsia, Asia's largest Life Sciences and Healthcare Convention witnessed its second day of ambitious deliberations among some of the world’s biggest healthcare stakeholders. The event witnessed high-profile deliberations among governments, corporations, veteran healthcare leaders, academia, and start-ups to discuss global healthcare challenges. Day 2 of BioAsia witnessed strategic discussions on the exponential impact that the fusion of technology and life sciences can create in rolling out an opportunity for every challenge in the global industry.  

Day 2 of BioAsia 2023 boasted of 5 panel discussions and a rip-roaring fireside chat between Dr. Sumbul Desai, VP Health, Apple, USA and Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals, India. The panels deliberated on the key pillars that reinforce the global growth of the life sciences industry. The first panel on ‘Data, analytics and technology to transform drug R&D: Redefining innovation’, delved into the benefits of using data analytics and technology across the R&D process and the opportunities this introduces India to. The follow up panel on ‘India for India and India for world: Where does quality stand?’, focused fiercely on the challenges India faces regarding drug and device quality as the stellar panel addresses solutions to these challenges. A third panel on the topic of ‘Med-tech penetration: What is the way ahead?’ witnesses leaders discussing roads that will better enable India to continue to build strength in the medical devices’ ecosystem leveraging India’s inherent IT strength. Experts commented on how this robust IT industry will contribute to drug registry and tackle the issue of counterfeit drugs, in a subsequent panel on ‘Integrated Healthcare: the future of care delivery model’. Yet another critical panel on ‘Global Supply chain transformation’ deliberated on sustainability enablement practices about manufacturing & supply chain and adopting ESG as a culture.

Mr KT Ramarao, Minister for Industries and commerce & IT, Government of Telangana marshalled the valedictory ceremony, where he commended the massive impact created by BioAsia. He said, “BioAsia, one of the largest life sciences events in Asia, has witnessed its biggest edition this year, in terms of the impact it has created. Participation of 2,000+ delegates, 175 exhibitors and start-ups, representation of 50 countries and 2000+ B2B meetings were held in the last 2 days. What I’m excited about is the road ahead and the possibilities on how technology can act as a force multiplier to help the life sciences industry innovate and scale in terms of its ambition. I am excited about how the most precious resource we have at our disposal, the human capital - the young India, could start working on world class innovations.” 

“I am excited about the opportunities that India presents in terms of scale, in terms of manufacturing medical devices, pharmaceuticals and all kinds of life sciences products. I am a firm believer in the 3 ‘I’ mantra – Innovation, Infrastructure and Inclusive growth – these 3Is can make the 4Th I – India, a true powerhouse of talented first world countries in times to come,” he added. 

Day 2 of BioAsia ended with an extraordinary Startup showcase comprising 76 brilliant participants hailing from national and international geographies. 5 start-ups, comprising the most innovative and futuristic products and services were chosen by a brilliant jury. 

1.    Exobot Dynamics Pvt Ltd - Exobot develops bionic limbs, exoskeletons, and assistive devices to improve health and performance of people with disabilities, diseased, and able-bodied individuals.

2.    Lambdagen Therapeutics – Lambdagen Therapeutics Singapore in collaboration with The University of MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA aims to develop personalised brain tumour myeloid cell-based cancer vaccine with LambdaGen’s proprietary non-viral genome engineering technology pipelines.

3.    Pratibha Healthkon - a health & medtech start-up from Telangana which has positioned itself as a leading solutions provider & open innovation partner to corporations in the primary health space that provide workflow for managing population screening and taking the individual through the care continuum from within the community to the PHCs.

4.    Ramja Genosensor - Ramja is the world's first paper-based device that can detect any infection and antimicrobial resistance in just 90 minutes.

5.    SatyaRX Pharma Innovations Pvt Ltd - a drug discovery company focused on discovery and development of novel drugs for cancers. The company is focused on the global markets for its cancer drugs and has developed specific expertise in the DNA damage response pathway.

Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce Dept, Govt of Telangana added, “Every year, BioAsia sparks global renewal of joint commitment to build on healthcare innovation at scale. 2023, as the year we return to hosting BioAsia physically, marks a key step forward in significantly strengthening collaboration and understanding between industry, academia, and governments. The Government of Telangana is a proud host of this monumental platform which I am certain, will spark the beginning of ground-breaking alliances and innovations”.

Commenting on the ongoing sessions of BioAsia, Mr Shakthi Nagappan, CEO, BioAsia, and Director, Telangana Life Sciences, Government of Telangana said, “We are delighted to return to hosting BioAsia in-person after 2 years of going virtual. Nothing will replace the power of in-person knowledge sharing and collaborations that occur at BioAsia every year. In the past 2 days of the global bio-business conference we have witnessed significant and beneficial deliberations. The panels in the conference are designed to broach topics of global healthcare relevance. We have a strong conviction that these discussions will open the door for additional discoveries, partnerships, and business alliances among innovators across the world who venture towards Healthcare for All.”

IT and Industries Minister @KTRBRS spoke at the valedictory ceremony of #BioAsia2023, the biggest, most successful Bio Asia ever: more than 2015 delegates attended, over 50 countries represented and in the last 2 days more than 2000 B2B meetings took place. pic.twitter.com/brthQXPwH5

— Minister for IT, Industries, MA & UD, Telangana (@MinisterKTR) February 25, 2023