Even as software technology parks face a sunset, biotech hubs are rising all over the country. And these clusters are leading to ?mini? domain hubs in the industry. Already, analysts are beginning to identify certain bio-clusters with a clear focus on a specific segment of biotechnology.

Hyderabad, for one, is the hotbed for pharma and pure-play chemistry-related work. The city?s Genome Valley, which has companies like Bharat Biotech, Shantha Biotech, Indian Immunologicals and Biological E, has an equivocal focus on vaccine development. Similarly Bangalore, which will have its biotech park Bangalore Helix later this month, is strong in bioinformatics, nanotechnology and microbiology. While the likes of Biocon and AstraZeneca focus their R&D efforts on the discovery of new chemical entities (NCE) for the treatment of infectious diseases, others like Aurigene, Strand Life Sciences and Sartorious provide screening technologies for drug discovery.

North is also catching up, with places like Lucknow and Chandigarh emerging as agri-research hubs. Lucknow Biotech Park is attempting to capitalise on its proximity to research institutes located in the city. R&D efforts of players like Crest Biotech, Clintech Research and IQRA Biotech Services are focused on improving the quality and yield of crops, bio-pesticides, bio-fertilisers and bio-fuels.

There is thus a clear demarcation in the type of R&D being conducted at these centres. Acquiring a focus is helpful, since it strengthens the linkage between industry, academia and research institutions in the region, says an analyst.

A report by international real estate consultants Cushman & Wakefield says that the Indian biotech industry is set to occupy 140 million square feet by 2010. By this period, it is expected to generate $5 billion revenues and create employment for a million through its products as well as services. While Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Mumbai are the preferred destinations for setting up a biotech facility, tier II and III cities like Vadodara, Coimbatore, Goa, Mysore, Madurai, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Thrissur, Nagpur and Thiruchirapalli are catching up fast as well.

Seven biotech parks are already operational in the country. There is a mix of parks established under a public private partnership and those established entirely by private players. These include three parks in Hyderabad, two in Chennai and one each in Lucknow and Pune. While Bangalore Helix gets operational later this month, a biotech park in Kochi is nearing completion soon.

That?s not all. About 16 biotech parks are in different stages of development in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Kerala, Orissa, Assam, Goa and Rajasthan. The maximum number of such ?knowledge parks? are coming up in Gujarat followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka.

A similar number of special economic zones (SEZ) dedicated to the life sciences industry have been given the go-ahead by the government. These SEZs cover a total area of about 1,043 acres. Maharashtra has the highest number of SEZs approved, followed by Karnataka. Probably inspired by the success of IT industry, biotech seems concentrated in South. However, a strong momentum towards West and North India with increasing interest of the companies is anticipated.

Targeting domain-specific R&D activities like agribiotech, bioinformatics, bionanotech or pure-play drug development, companies are collaborating with these biotech hubs for specific research. No wonder, there is increased collaboration and mutual dependence between individuals, scientists and the corporate world to sail through these innovation corridors.

As of now, Hyderabad enjoys a dominant position in biotech and pharma research. It has witnessed infrastructural development in the biotech domain wherein ICICI Knowledge Park, SP Biotech Park, Genome Valley and other projects have come up giving the city an advantage over others. Over 53 international biotech companies have established their operations in the Genome Valley over the last one year. Additionally, this city will witness development of two biotech SEZs and three biotech parks in the next couple of years.

Real estate developers are obviously working hard on positioning their biotech parks. Genome Valley, which houses SP Biotech Park and ICICI Knowledge Park seem to be the frontrunner. SP Biotech Park, developed by Shapoorji Pallonji Company Ltd, is a joint venture with the Andhra Pradesh government, covering an area of 600 sq km with two phases of 142 acres and 160 acres. ?Over nine universities are supporting the research activities,? says P Gopal Krishnan, head, SP Biotech Park.

ICICI Knowledge Park, spread over a 200-acre campus in the Genome Valley houses biotech majors who have invested over Rs 300 crore. So far, there are 30 R&D companies; out of these, 11 have graduated and currently, there are 19 companies (12 Indian, 5 American, 1 German and 1 Japanese company). ?The mandate is to develop an innovation hub around a research park so that the region becomes globally competitive, says ICICI Knowledge Park CEO, Deepanwita Chattopadhyay.

What these parks offer to the tenant companies is infrastructure for undertaking R&D, pilot testing, demonstration and validation facilities for the industry and finally, the marketing mechanisms for taking the products and services from lab to market. At ICICI Knolwedge Park, biotech companies are doing research work in various areas of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and chemistry. About 68% of these companies are into technology/product development and the rest are engaged in contract research.

Does this foster competition among different states? With increasing global competition, partnering and outsourcing, facilitating agencies like knowledge parks play a crucial role in promoting the country?s knowledge industries. These parks act as regional development agencies, says Chattopadhyay.

Science parks and incubators are seen as cost effective tools for the government to attract investments and growth in emerging innovation sectors. However, a park alone cannot provide the impetus. It has to be embedded in an innovation eco-system with R&D institutions/research universities, companies, infrastructure and support services and a pro-active government, she adds.

At the 100-acre Bangalore biotechnology park, initiatives are being taken to develop it as a biocluster, where inter-dependent biotech companies would be encouraged to set up operations. Park officials inform that Bangalore has the capacity to take nearly Rs 2,400 crore in investment in five years. Already, Novo Nordisk, Syngene, Aurigene, Wipro Life Sciences and Novozymes have moved in.

Chennai has experienced a similar wave of growth. A laboratory infrastructure, TICEL Bio Park has been established and has been in operation since November 2004. The city will witness development of three more biotech parks and a biotech SEZ in the coming years.

In the North, the eight-acre Lucknow biotech park is focused on healthcare, agriculture, environment and environmental technologies. The park?s proximity to research institutes like National Botanical Research Centre (NBRI), Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Industrial Technology Research Centre (ITRC) and the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), is a major attraction to several

biotech companies.

With biotech widely touted as the next big thing, the rush for these parks is not surprising but is widely expected to lead to overcapacity. Clearly, a war of sorts is on cards. And the winning clusters would need to provide the best networking with research institutes, incubators and commercial development of technology.