BWI: Novartis Hosts First Ever India Biotechnology Leadership Camp (BioCamp) for 38 Leading Students from Around 20 Top Universities

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Novartis India Limited
Thursday, August 13, 2009 04:30 PM IST (11:00 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Education & training, Healthcare, biotechnology & pharmaceutical; Healthcare
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Novartis Hosts First Ever India Biotechnology Leadership Camp (BioCamp) for 38 Leading Students from Around 20 Top Universities
Three Students to Represent India at International BioCamp in Cambridge, USA

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Thursday, August 13, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- -- Novartis India offers 38 top University students hands-on experience with the multifaceted world of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology and direct contact with experts in the field

-- Three winning students to participate in the International Novartis Biotechnology Leadership Camp taking place at the Novartis Institute of BioMedical Research, Cambridge, USA in October 2009

Novartis India hosted its first ever Biotechnology Leadership Camp (BioCamp) in Hyderabad on August 11 and 12, 2009. Dr Anuradha Sinha and Amit Kumar, both currently pursuing their MBA at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad and Rodabeh Vania, a fresh M.Sc. postgraduate from the Indian Institute of Science, Mumbai were selected after an intense two-day program to represent India at the International BioCamp being held at the Novartis Institute of BioMedical Research, Cambridge, USA from October 26 - 31, 2009.

The India BioCamp had eminent speakers such as Chief Guest Bibhu Prasad Acharya (IAS), Chairman & Managing Director, AP Industrial Infrastructure Corp. Ltd. who in his keynote address spoke on Infrastructure Support for Innovation - a case study of Genome Valley.

Prof D Balasubramanian, Director of Research, L V Prasad Eye Institute, spoke on Developments in the field of Biotechnology. Other speakers included Dr Villoo Morawala-Patell, Founder & CMD of Avesthagen Ltd who covered the Future of Medicines and the Challenges of setting up a Biotech venture, Utkarsh Palnitkar, Partner & Leader Advisory Services, E&Y and Member BIRAC, who introduced students to the world of funding and incubating innovation, Dr Raj Raghupathy, Professor and Consultant Immunologist at the Al-Kabeer Hospital, Kuwait University and Dr Kasim Mookhtiar, Chief Scientific Officer and SVP, Advinus Therapeutics Pvt Ltd who addressed the students on the Drug Discovery process. Dr Praveen Tyle, Senior VP and Global Head R&D and BD&L, OTC, Novartis Consumer Health spoke to students on the Drug Development process. There were several other Novartis speakers who spoke on subjects of interest.

Speaking on the occasion, Ranjit Shahani, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Novartis India Limited said, "BioCamp offers bright young talent a platform to meet with and interact with thought leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. It is just one example of the Novartis commitment to supporting the student community. The judges had a difficult time selecting the winners and we decided to therefore send three students to represent India."

About BioCamp

The Novartis Biotechnology Leadership Camp (BioCamp) has been held annually in Asian countries since 2004, starting in Taiwan as a local event. It has since grown impressively in to a global event. Last year's International BioCamp in Hong Kong was attended by 57 students from 20 countries; whilst the European BioCamp was attended by 45 students from 14 countries (the top two students from the European BioCamp attended the International BioCamp). Around 70 students from around the world are expected to participate in the global BioCamp being held in October 2009 in partnership with MIT.

BioCamp is a pioneering seminar organized by Novartis that brings young, talented students from diverse faculties and different universities closer to the field. It is open to postgraduate students and young researchers in science, pharmacology, medicine, biotechnology, business management (preference to students with a science background) or law (specialization in IPR) interested in pursuing a career in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry.

Students go through a rigorous judging process before they are selected to participate in the country BioCamps. 38 students from diverse faculties including pharmacology, biotechnology, life sciences, finance, biomedical engineering, genetics, business management and immunology participated at the recently concluded India event. Institutes they came from included the Indian Institutes of Technology, Bombay and Roorkee; All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi; St John's Medical College, Bangalore; National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali and Hyderabad; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi; Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; Indian School of Business, Hyderabad; Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani and the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Trivandrum among others.

About Novartis

Novartis AG provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines, diagnostic tools and consumer health products. Novartis is the only company with leading positions in these areas. In 2008, the Group's continuing operations achieved net sales of USD 41.5 billion and net income of USD 8.2 billion. Approximately USD 7.2 billion was invested in R&D activities throughout the Group. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 98,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.


CONTACT DETAILS
Svetlana Pinto, Corporate Communications, Novartis India Limited, +91 (22) 24951074 , +91 9821054884, biocamp.india@novartis.com
Liana Albuquerque, Corporate Communications, Novartis India Limited, +91 (22) 24958805, +91 9821436458, liana.albuquerque@novartis.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, HEALTHCARE, NOVARTIS.BO

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