ABLE organized a zonal round table meet at Chennai which was hosted by Evolva Biotech Pvt. Ltd. and moderated by Dr. P. M. Murali (CEO, Evolva) and Dr. Satya Dash (COO, ABLE). Twenty five participants attended this roundtable meeting representing both the biotech industry as well as the academic sectors in Tamil Nadu.

While the underlying theme of the meet was the Role of Industry-Academia Linkage in fostering Innovation in the Biotech ecosystem in Tamil Nadu, wider issues concerning the holistic growth of the biotechnology industry in Tamil Nadu were also extensively discussed in the roundtable.

The focus points and areas of concern that emerged from the meeting are the following:

1) Single Window for Approval
Biotech industries in Tamil Nadu would like to have a single window for approval for a whole gamut of issues such as pollution control, and land acquisition amongst many others.

2) Focus on Discovery Research and Manufacturing
It was felt that while the healthcare delivery landscape in Tamil Nadu is encouraging, the state government should focus on helping firms conducting discovery research and manufacturing in the biotech space.

3) Creation of a Complete Ecosystem
Despite having a several high calibre academic institutions, there is an urgent need for aligning academic and industrial linkages for collaborative research. It was felt that there is a need for specialized industry training initiative for biotech students in the State.

4) Creation of an Early Stage Biotech focussed Public Fund
It was felt that the Tamil Nadu government should establish Rs.100 crores fund that specifically finances early stage biotech innovations conducted by biotech firms in the state.

5) Focus on all aspects of Biotech
It was felt that the Tamil Nadu government should also focus on segments like Synthetic Biology, Bio-energy and Natural Products Drug Discovery.

This zonal meet concluded on a successful and enthusiastic note. ABLE looks forward to conduct more of such discussions in the near future in order to promote and encourage positive developments in the Indian biotech industry.