BioAsia 2023 announces speaker line-up

The 20th edition of BioAsia is being organised by the Government of Telangana from 24th to 26th February, 2023 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), a joint statement by BioAsia and Government of Telangana mentioned.

The event will feature government dignitaries, industry leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs and other delegates, and explore the theme of Advancing for ONE: Shaping the next generation of humanised healthcare. Ernst and Young (E&Y) will be the knowledge partner of the event, the statement informed.

Some of the eminent speakers who will be participating at BioAsia 2023 are as follows:

• Dr Vasanth Narasimhan, CEO, Novartis, Switzerland (global leader who has worked on a range of public health issues including development of over 20 novel medicines, advance cell and gene therapies and vaccines. He is also a member of the US National Academy of Medicine and a member of the board of fellows of Harvard Medical School list).
• Professor Robert Langer, Professor, MIT and co-founder, Moderna, Inc, USA (a scientist, entrepreneur, professor with 37 honorary doctorates. He has been awarded the US National Medal of Science, US National Medal of Technology and Innovation, Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering and Max Planck Research Award, among others).
• Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), UK (previously, the acting Director of US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a consultant to the WHO on a variety of topics related to biodefence and emergency medical preparedness, he also served as Director, Medical Preparedness Policy, White House National Security Staff, and was conferred the US secretary of health and human services award).
• Dr Rahul Singhvi, CEO, Resilience, US (a global leader in the lifesciences industry was formerly the Chief Operating Officer, Vaccine Business Unit, Takeda, and President and CEO, Novavax. He was also an Operating Partner, Flagship Pioneering).
• Dr Mark Abdoo, Associate Commissioner, Global Policy and Strategy, USFDA (providing executive oversight, strategic leadership and policy direction to FDA’s global policy, operations, trade and diplomacy activities).
• Dr Gregory Moore, Vice President, Corporate Planning, Microsoft, USA (leads Microsoft’s health efforts globally, and is responsible for product strategy, product development and research, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technology for healthcare and lifesciences).
• Professor Sarfaraz K Niazi, Adj Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA (adviser to six heads of state, including President Barack Obama, pioneer in biosimilars, established the first US biosimilars company and holds over 200 patents, inductee in entrepreneur hall of fame and has raised over $500 million).

Apart from it, the other speakers comprise Dr Samit Hirawat, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Global Drug Development division, Bristol-Myers Squibb, US; Dr Sarah Mcmullen, Country Director, India, FDA; Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, World Health Organization (WHO); Dr Shyam Bishen, Executive Director, Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare, World Economic Forum, Switzerland; Agam Upadhyay, SVP, Chief Technology Officer, GSK, US and Pavan Kumar Mocherla, MD, India And South Asia, BD, Singapore.

There will also be a number of distinguished speakers from the Indian industry at the event including Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals (India); Satish Reddy, Chairman, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories; Dr Gagandeep Kang, Virologist and Professor, Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences, CMC Vellore; Dr S Chandrasekhar, Secretary, Government of India, Department of Science and Technology; Glenn Saldanha, Chairman And Managing Director, Glenmark Pharma; Sanjiv Navangul, MD and CEO, Bharat Serums and Vaccines; Dr Rehan Khan, MD, MSD India; Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMED); Prem Pavoor, Senior Partner, Head, India and Healthcare Investments, Eight Roads Ventures, etc, the statement added.

It further mentioned that the speakers will highlight the growing role of India in the global lifesciences market, and also deliberate on the opportunities/challenges for India as the companies look to scale further heights.

KT Rama Rao, Minister, IT E&C, MA&UD and Industries and Commerce Departments, Government of Telangana, said in the statement, “Telangana has been playing a significant role in strengthening the positioning of the country in the worldwide lifesciences industry. Several key global players have been leveraging the ecosystem provided by the state by setting up their operations in the state. BioAsia has created a legacy by providing a platform for global leaders to deliberate on healthcare’s key requirements over the last 20 years. I am confident that the world will continue to hear and learn from the brilliant minds at the conference.”

Adding to it, “BioAsia has played an instrumental role in the development of the healthcare industry around the world. Over the last 20 years, BioAsia has hosted over 20,000 B2B, B2R and R2R meetings that led to strategic business deals, making Telangana the lifesciences capital of the world. 250+ Lols, bilateral cooperation agreements, and MoUs were signed and 30+ knowledge papers and policy recommendations were also implemented. This 20th edition is likely to contribute to a significant amount of collaboration among all the key stakeholders for the development of the healthcare industry,” said Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Government of Telangana.

“With a prominent speaker line-up from the healthcare industry, we are confident that this edition will help in bridging the gaps in the healthcare industry. Over the years, BioAsia has emerged as one of the key contributors to the development of the lifesciences industry. The conference will deliberate on some of the most relevant aspects of the lifesciences/healthcare industry, including the potential strategies for operationalising the one-health approach, building more resilient supply chains in light of the current geo-political trends, opportunities for the Indian medtech industry and the issues plaquing the growth, role of technologies like AI, ML metverse in healthcare, regulatory and government support required to accelerate growth and make innovative therapies available to patients at affordable cost, adopting ESG as a culture, among others,” said Shakthi Nagappan, Director of Life Sciences, Government of Telangana and CEO, BioAsia, in the statement.

The statement also said that the theme of this edition is “Advancing for ONE: Shaping the next generation of humanised healthcare.” Over the course of the three days, prominent industry leaders, distinguished scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs will come together to discuss humanising healthcare, and will hold constructive discussions on how cross-sectional ecosystems can be integrated, how disruptive technologies can be best utilised, and how we can drive quality healthcare with accessibility and affordability at the forefront in the near future.

Suresh Subramanian, Partner, National Life Sciences Leader, EY India, also said in the statement, “The cross-sectoral collaborations will bring major think tanks together at BioAsia2023 in inducing critical deliberations from the lifesciences industry to ensure a more inclusive approach. The pandemic has made us learn an important aspect that a collective effort can assist in coping up with a larger issue rather than tackling it in silos. BioAsia 2023’s theme “Advancing for one” would further augment this collaborative effort and help the industry to be better equipped for any future challenges. We at EY are delighted to be facilitating this vision as BioAsia2023’s knowledge partners.”