Novartis’ BioCamp concludes in Hyderabad

Winners after receiving the awards

Novartis Biotechnology Leadership Camp (BioCamp), a seminar organised by Novartis for talented students from diverse faculties and different universities, recently concluded in Hyderabad. Esha Kakkar, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Business, Hyderabad took top honours along with Dr Girish Naik of Christian Medical College, Vellore and Sagar Laygude of IIT – Chennai. Selected after an intense three-day programme, they represented India at the International BioCamp which took place at the Novartis Campus in Basle, Switzerland from August 26 – 29, 2012.

The inaugural address of BioCamp India was delivered by Prof D Balasubramanian, LV Prasad Eye Institute who spoke on the pyramid model of eyecare delivery while the valedictory address was given by R Chandrasekaran, CEO, Cognizant India. Both speakers spoke of leveraging technology in science to reach a larger section of society with better patient outcomes.

Topics covered during the three-day programme included clinical drug development, entrepreneurship, branding and commercialisation, the role of intellectual property rights, ethics and career opportunities in the pharmaceutical world. As part of the programme participants worked on a case study to address diabetes as a disease that impacts a large section of the Indian population.

Speaking on the occasion, Ranjit Shahani, VC and MD, Novartis India said, “Novartis appreciates the opportunity to play a role in bringing top talent closer to the pharma industry and to partner with academia. BioCamp provides students on the threshold of their careers insights to the pharma and biotech industries. It offers bright minds a platform to interact with leaders in the field and network with students coming from different faculties across the country.”

EP News Bureau