Budget makes decisive investment in India' health and innovation future: Biocon chief

Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Sunday said the Union Budget makes a decisive investment in India's health and innovation future, by placing biopharma among the seven strategic frontier sectors and launching ''Biopharma Shakti'' with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore over five years. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed Rs 10,000 crore investment in the biopharma sector over the next five years, a move which would give a boost to the country's pharmaceuticals industry. Biopharmaceuticals, or biologics, are complex medicines manufactured from living organisms, cells, or tissues rather than through chemical synthesis. ''By placing biopharma among the seven strategic frontier sectors and launching Biopharma Shakti with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore over five years, the Union Budget makes a decisive investment in India's health and innovation future,'' Shaw posted on 'X.' As India's disease burden shifts toward cancer, diabetes and autoimmune disorders, biologics and biosimilars will be central to improving longevity and quality of life, she said. ''This initiative--spanning manufacturing scale-up, global-grade regulation, new NIPER institutions and a nationwide clinical trials network--can firmly position India as a global biopharma manufacturing hub,'' she added.