Biotech Industry Conclave 2021 at KIIT School of Biotechnology

School of Biotechnology, KIIT Deemed to be University organized Biotech Industry Conclave 2021 on 24^th and 25^th September 2021. Representatives from several companies from Biotech Industries took part in the discussion and deliberation on the theme, ‘Alliance and Deputation: Empowering the Backbone of Biotechnology’. Speaking at the inaugural session, Dr. Mrutyunjay Suar introduced KIIT-Technology Business Incubator (TBI) to the speakers and gave an interesting insight into the interdependence of industry and academia. Dr. Srinivas Patnaik, Dean, KSBT introduced the panelists and speakers and gave a brief history of KIIT School of Biotechnology and Biotech Conclave that began in the year of 2014. Dr. Gopal Chowdhary set the event in motion by thanking everyone for their presence.

In his keynote address, Dr. Anil Koul asserted that science is driven by the industrial setup. He gave a presentation describing how Johnson & Johnson collaborates with other industries. He then discussed GPH, a small unit of J&J that conducts non-commercial programs. He also discussed AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance). According to the WHO, AMR is considered one of the top 10 Global Public Health Threats. Furthermore, he discussed Tuberculosis (TB). He and his team discovered a molecule called Bedaquiline, which inhibits the ATP synthase and shuts down the power supply of TB bacterium.

Dr. P.M. Murali, President, ABLE Business Council inspired young minds to broaden their horizon by sharing his experiences as an entrepreneur. He focused on the development of the Biotech Industry and technological advancements in therapeutics and diagnostics. He used various examples to encourage students to nurture their big yet scalable ideas for global benefits. He discussed the BEST program organized by ABLE which provided young scientists an opportunity to develop their entrepreneurship skills. Revealing his plan to open a center in Bhubaneswar, he motivated everyone to dream big, push their boundaries and commit to their dreams because dreams lead to world-class ideas.

Taking part in the first session on ‘Molecular Diagnostics’, Mr. Ashsish Kumar Dubey,  Mr. Sayantan Barat and Dr. Srinivasan Vedantham focused on the growth that has been observed in the molecular diagnostics sector and the upsurge of molecular testing facilities that came forward in the hour of need during this pandemic. They highlighted how the diagnostics methods under this sector have become affordable and easily accessible to the general public due to the market demand. They also discussed some critical quality measures in the molecular testing sectors including the involvement of qualified personnel, following the guidelines of lab design and sample transport, control of analytical variables by proper periodic QC check, library preparation, data analysis, and many more.

In the second session on ‘Data Analytics’, Mr. Ranjith Prayankotveettil, Mr. Abhishek Mishra and Mr. SekharAyyagari focused on the advantages of data analytics in the Biotech and Pharma industry. They discussed the use of data analytics in drug development that facilitates the process by reducing time and money consumption while increasing the efficiency over conventional methodology and enlightened on the topic of why instead of having a high risk of failure this field is currently presenting itself as a very promising field. They also talked about the assets of technology advancements, like predictive analysis, open-source software, and data visualization tools, in collecting, assembling, and interpreting data.