From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Nov 18: Pulitzer Prize Winner Dr Siddharth Mukherjee underscored the necessity of according special sector status to health infrastructure, food, agriculture biotechnology and medical sciences. Addressing the plenary session at the ‘Bengaluru Tech Summit-2021’ on Thursday, he said technologies should be made affordable and easier to use.

“It is not a joke to build a nation. The progress of a nation is measured by discoveries and research activities” he said.

Dr Mukherjee said India has made rapid strides in computer science and information technology but it is unfortunate that people are unable to afford the high cost of cancer disease treatment even as the number of patients afflicted with the disease has risen.

He said it is not possible for all Indian families to visit England, US or Germany to undergo treatment for cancer and so it is necessary for investors to change their attitude.

He said immunotherapy, gene therapy, and gene editing among others are gaining traction in the treatment of cancer disease and they have been effective in treating children suffering from cancer and others suffering from myeloma, lymphoma and breast cancer.

Dr Mukherjee said the healthcare sector should be treated on par with nation-building.

He said India should constitute a commission on the American model to elevate the healthcare sector and get the recommendations in six-eight months. The government could provide land and funds with tax breaks and cuts to expedite the process.

New methods have come up to treat cancer without radiotherapy and chemotherapy but they haven’t got the due recognition. He said China could achieve success so could India.

Dr Mukherjee said he had floated 9 companies in US and invested a huge amount to offer affordable treatment of cancer. One of the companies Vor had developed medicine to treat thalassemia which has proven to be effective using gene-editing technology.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman of the vision group on biotechnologyof Karnataka, moderated the discussion.

Start-ups ready for scrutiny: Experts

Entrepreneurs and start-ups should be ready to ride a tiger and also be under the constant quarterly radar if they raise money from the capital markets. This sentiment was expressed by industry captains on Thursday at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2021.

Participating in the session ‘IPO opportunity and Challenges for Start-ups,’ Manish Agarwal CEO, Nazara Technologies said companies wanting to go public to raise money from the market should weigh the pros and cons before doing so.

He said companies should be willing to go under the scanner as is the norm of the market regulator to be upfront on all issues pertaining to the running of the company.

Nipun Goel of India Infoline Finance Ltd said listing the company’s shares provides financial flexibility to companies and is a tool to fund acquisitions to further growth. He said the process of going public takes six to seven months for companies who want to take the IPO (initial public offering) route.

Companies are also looking at higher valuations as they raise capital to fund their growth and business activities, he said.

Salil Pitale of Axis Capital said for the small companies IPOs mean currency to achieve growth. He said companies wish to take the IPO route as most of them are of the view that it is the path to profitability. However, the constant scrutiny of the performance of the company post-IPO is something that the promoters should be willing to take questions from shareholders on the decisions impacting all of them. Agarwal said it is a myth that selling shares by promoters means unlocking shareholder value. He said such moves should be followed or preceded by proper signaling and a narrative that is conducive for investment.

Pitale said it is necessary for promoters to communicate why they were offloading their stakes with justifiable reasons. Worldwide it is seen that in tech companies stakes held at promoters may not be a large percentage to warrant any untoward reaction if they decide to sell a percentage of their holding.

Goel said loss-making companies are allowed to list on the markets and the regulators are constantly scrutinizing the financials in the pre-IPO and post-IPO scenarios.

He said the bigger the issue size better it is for the companies as they go about raising money via the capital market. Markets have become institution driven and mutual funds have become big and so a small-sized IPO is challenging for the companies wanting to raise money.

Agarwal said startups looking to return debt and grow their business choose the IPO route. However, companies should have a contingency plan if markets are not conducive.

Goel said investors do not favour volatility but good companies are always good buys for investors in the market.

Pitale said companies who are doing due diligence on the IPO route to raise money should brace themselves for a Plan B and hit the market when the time is right.

List of Smart Bio Award Winners at BTS 2021

Innovator of the Year Award
Axio Biosolutions Pvt. Ltd.
Best Startup against COVID-19
NeoDx Biotech Labs Pvt. Ltd.

Woman Entrepreneur of the Year
Dr Janani Venkataraman, Promoter, Biomoneta

Best Social Enterprise/Institute
Biocon Academy

Biotech Start-up of the year
HealthCube