BioAsia-2021 to focus on Covid, global health

Begumpet: The 18th edition of BioAsia, Asia's largest life-sciences and healthcare conference, will be held virtually from February 22-23 with a focus on Covid-19, global health, pharma and medical technologies.

The conference will provide an opportunity to pharma and biotech companies, contract research organisations, contract manufacturing organisations, contract development and manufacturing organisations, biotech start-ups, academic institutions, scientists and researchers, policymakers, and regulatory experts across the globe to discuss coronavirus and other insightful topics related to the life sciences industry.

The two-day event will witness a wide array of panels focussing on the Covid-19 pandemic and how it has led to various changes in the life sciences industry across the globe. The conference will offer insightful sessions on India's current and future potential in immunising the world and key actions taken to become the future global innovative vaccines provider, the organisers said in a statement on Tuesday.

The participants will also hear the experts discussing innovation at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and finance, promoting affordable and accessible innovation in the healthcare sector. They will also focus on the learnings from Covid-19 to develop robust healthcare systems and for responding better to the next pandemic.

An interesting session will focus on the prospects of medical technologies becoming the next big opportunity for India that can accelerate the journey from the primary importers to large scale exporters as India has proven frugal innovation as evidenced by innovative Covid-19 diagnostic solutions.

The CEO conclave for the 18th edition of BioAsia will deliberate on supply chain resilience, innovation and research, and access to innovative medicines, among others."Over the years, BioAsia has played a critical part in uniting the worldwide business pioneers, scientists, policymakers, academia, and investor community together on one platform talking about the new opportunities and creating systems to succeed," said Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce, Government of Telangana."We have worked towards making Telangana a hub of the life sciences industry, with significant success. Today, Telangana is seen as one of the top life sciences destinations in the world," he added.

Shakthi Nagappan, CEO of BioAsia and Director of Telangana Life Sciences, said they expect the 18th edition of BioAsia to be bigger than all previous editions. "With the theme 'Move the Needle', the event will provide a platform to deliberate on topics of importance for the life sciences industry like India's role in vaccines, learnings from Covid-19, digital health, and trends in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry," he said.

Over the course of 17 years, the event has witnessed participation from more than 20,000 leaders representing over 93 countries and has conducted more than 20,000 partnering meetings.