The Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE), the apex body of the biotech sector in India, and the US-based Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association (WBBA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enable broad-ranging co-operation in the field of biotechnology and to support breakthrough discoveries in healthcare, agriculture and clean energy in the country.

Both ABLE and WBBA are to provide each others’ members opportunities to co-operate and invest in the State of Washington and in India, in the field of biotechnology. These activities could be the current ones that both associations are engaged in or future ones that both may decide to do individually or jointly.

Activities could concern technical knowledge, market research, inputs for policy-making, internships, exhibitions, workshops, seminars, capacity-building, collaborations, investment and business partnering.

P. M. Murali, President, ABLE said, “The collaboration aims to achieve breakthrough discoveries to provide affordable solutions for critical diseases, important challenges in agriculture and energy on mutually agreed topics.”

Chris Rivera, President, WBBA said, “We see India as the growth engine of tomorrow and one of the fastest growing economies in the world. This collaboration with ABLE is significant to facilitate the best of research in biotechnology from both the countries.”