BioInformatics grows at sluggish pace

The smallest segment of the Industry, BioInformatics which has just about 2 percent segment share in the overall industry, has been sluggish in FY 2009-10. It registered a 5 percent growth over 2008-09, clocking Rs 231 crore in revenues last year as compared to Rs 220 crore in FY 2008-09, when it recorded a growth of 16 percent. The pure-play BioInformatics companies in India include Strand Genomics, Ocimum Biosolutions, SysArris, CytoGenomics and Molecular Connections. These companies have come out with products that cater mainly to the needs of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Most of these companies are small and medium enterprises based at locations such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune.