Punjab/National News- Sukhbir Badal offers Biocon JV in Cancer and Diabetes treatment

Bangalore, September 30, 2013: Punjab Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today offered to enter into joint ventures with Biocon Limited for cancer and diabetes treatment following an interest shown by Biocon Limited head Dr Kiran Mazumdar Shaw in partnering with Punjab to introduce effective interventions at the grass root level in the State.

The Deputy chief minister made this offer after Dr Kiran Mazumdar Shaw highlighted the need to tackle cancer and diabetes through a three pronged approach of educating the people about the disease, making patients aware of their exact condition and effective intervention during a thirty minute presentation at the Biocon headquarter here.

Sukhbir Singh Badal also invited the Biocon chief to invest in the Medicity at Mullanpur to which she agreed. Shaw on her part said her company would also look into investing in manufacturing in Punjab. Industries Secretary Karan Avtar Singh briefed Shaw on the occasion that the Punjab government was ready to allot land to reputed companies for a single SEZ in Mohali.

Other points of discussion included Biocon help in establishing bio toilets in Punjab. The Biocon chief disclosed that her company had perfected low cost bio toilets technology. The Deputy CM said Punjab was open to adopting the technology as it had a mandate to construct more than one lakh toilets in rural areas.

Earlier during her presentation Shaw emphasised that Biocon had developed Insugen which was its entry point as far as diabetes treatment was concerned. She said the price of this drug had come down by four times after Biocon entered this market. She said the company was also the world’s biggest site for production of immunosuppressants.

Sukhbir Badal in his remarks noted that cancer treatment was at the top of the agenda of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and that the State government was ready to partner with Biocon for treatment in this regard. He asked Biocon to come up with a working model for cancer treatment as well as diabetes care. Ms Shaw on her part said the company had a model for diabetes care under which space could be given to entrepreneurs in primary health care centres where they could screen patients and then suggest interventions.

In a freewheeling discussion, the Biocon chief said the company had various problems in different States because of lack of power and difficulty in getting clearances. Once she was briefed about the steps being taken in Punjab including single window clearance for all applications which could be submitted online, she said “this is the kind of progressive thinking which is needed in India”.

Later the Deputy Chief Minister also invited Shaw to the Investor Summit being held in Chandigarh on December 9 and 10 to which she gave her assent.