Downstream processing of value-added proteins in biotechnology: An Indian scenario

摘要

Biotechnology is perceived as a revolution throughout the world. India holds a small share of 2% in the global biotech market (source: BioSpectrum, www.biospectrumindia.ciol.com) and it makes consistent efforts to emerge as a key player in biotechnology-related activities and investments endowed with a huge knowledge pool, rich biodiversity and a vibrant pharmaceutical industry. Biotechnology has emerged globally as a high-growth sector with tremendous applications in the areas of healthcare, agriculture, environment and processing industry. The Indian biotechnology industry, like its global counterparts, is dominated by the healthcare sector [1]. In India nearly 40% of the biotech Companies operate in the biopharma sector, followed by bioservices (21%), bioagficulture (19%), bioinfor-matics (14%) and the bioindustrial sector (5%) (source: www.biospectrumindia.ciol.com). Healthcare Biotechnology includes the production of diagnostics (mAbs and DNA probes), prophylactics (vaccines) and therapeutics (recombinant proteins) . Table 1 shows the significant role of Indian biotech companies in the biopharmaceutical seg- ment by producing recombinant-DNA therapeutic proteins.