National Biopharma Mission: Government inks Legal Agreements with World Bank

The Union Government has entered into agreement with World Bank for flexible financing arrangement to accelerate research towards early development for biopharmaceuticals under National Biopharma Mission.
The agreement was signed between project implementing agency, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a PSU of Department of Biotechnology, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) on behalf of World Bank.

National Biopharma Mission

The mission was launched by Ministry of Science & Technology in 2017 at total cost of US $250 million for five years with 50% funding through World Bank Loan. It aims to make India hub for design and development of novel, affordable and effective biopharmaceutical products such as vaccines, biologics and medical devices for combating public health concerns.
Its objective is to strengthen translational capability of academic researchers, empower bio-entrepreneurs and SMEs by decreasing cost and risk during early stages of product development and also elevate innovation quotient of industry.
It will provide a holistic and integrated approach to strengthen and support entire product development value chain for accelerating research leads to product development. This will help not only in immediate product development for addressing public health needs, but also help to create ecosystem which will facilitate development of continuous pipeline of products.
The mission will concentrate on development of specific products such as vaccines, medical devices, biotherapeutics and diagnostics etc. Besides, it will also work on establishment of shared infrastructure and facilities. It will help in building and strengthening domain specific knowledge and management skills at the same time creating and enhancing technology transfer capabilities in public and private sector.

Month: Current Affairs - April, 2018