The world has witnessed extraordinary advances in science over the last few decades. With this growth biotechnology has emerged as a major area of interest covering a broad range of scientific activities in sectors such as food, health and agriculture. Red or Medical Biotechnology, a specific stream of biotechnology with a focus on medicine and health care, has become an integral part. Medical biotechnology extends beyond medicines and diagnostics into cell and tissue engineered products, and includes the use-and-application of key biotechnology tools in research and development of innovative medicines.



Many reports have revealed that growth of the Biotechnology sector has gained magnificent momentum with a phenomenal growth in health care sector. Biotechnology is leading the new health economy with many companies selling medicines, being developed by a biotechnology company alone or in partnership with pharmaceutical companies. The global biotechnological industry is dominated by US but India is making consistent effort to emerge as a big biotechnology hub, owing to its knowledgeable manpower, rich biodiversity, as well as government support. The government's investment in the sector is worth crores of rupees. Today Indian biotech sector has created critical mass in research services and slowly has built a market for biotech products and services that is estimated to be several hundred million dollars and is on the rise. It is been reported by Department of biotechnology and ministry of science and technology that Indian biopharmaceuticals sector alone has the potential to reach billion dollar market size, biopharmaceuticals and its services in health care have a gigantic share of almost 80% of the total biotechnology business in the country. It comes under three broad categories, vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. India's main potential lies in vaccine development where traditional and modern medicinal knowledge and bioinformatics can merge and do wonders in health care business.

Indian Biotech Companies like Astrazeneca, Biocon, Care Biomedical, Biotech Support Services, Panacea Biotec, Wipro Health sciences, Eli Lily etc. have generated huge pool of new or enhanced molecules for global companies which generated tremendous profits, Companies like Biocon have made significant industrial contributions. They have transformed from just being an enzyme producing company to a drug producing firm, which has marketed synthetic insulin with lowest cost in the world and is now plannning to set up a large scale cell culture facility to produce monoclonal antibody and therapeutic proteins. Biocon value presently exceed more than 1.1 billion dollar (times of India, 13 April, 2005). It is just the one example to set there are many other associations making the same kind of wave.