Entrepreneurship in the Indian biotechnology sector: current trends and future scenario

Abstract

This study analyzes the current trends in entrepreneurship in the Indian Biotechnology sector. The entrepreneurial firms studied were from the bio-informatics and biosimilar sectors. Based on structured, questionnaire based interviews with the entrepreneurs, the study attempts to understand the prevalent business models, the financing scenario, the returns on investment and the typical challenges faced by the firms. The findings from this process are used to create a model that depicts the current model of entrepreneurship. The study then attempts to conduct a comparative analysis of the above entrepreneurial model, in the bio-informatics and biosimilar sectors, with the precedent from the IT and traditional pharma generics industries. The various similarities and dissimilarities are examined, in order to derive lessons that will be of importance to the entrepreneur. The comparative analysis is further extended, with the reference of the precedent as stated above, to hypothesize on the future scenario that may come to mark the bio-informatics and biosimilar sectors. This description of the future scenario attempts to throw light on the changing dynamics of the industry, so that the entrepreneur is better prepared to deal with them.