ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari has called for greater research and focus on developing Bioinformatics in the country given the potential of this key industry to grow rapidly at a global level in the coming years.
While talking to a workshop here on Tuesday organized by Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) on Bioinformatics he said that, "the blend of biology and the life sciences, coupled with the computing power, is creating a global industry with the potential revenue realization of many billions of dollars in the not too distant future".
Awais Leghari observed that the Bioinformatics industry was not only important from the perspective of the money involved, but it was also very critical in the impact it would have on the future of the pharmaceutical and other industries.
He was of the view that life sciences and pharmaceutical firms were placing an increasing emphasis on IT investments related to research to gain competitive advantage by reducing the time for drug discovery.
The minister lamented that there was hardly any company in Pakistan that was working in this important area of information technology. "It is time that we devoted more energy and resources to develop this particular industry to bring it in line with the world practices," he added.
He said advances in Biotechnology, particularly in the human genome research, had led to development of large amount of data that needed to be analyzed and interpreted for drug discovery. "This has led to opportunities for IT vendors in this space," he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Aamir Matin, managing director of the Pakistan Software Export Board, said the workshop was one of a series of exercises being undertaken by the PSEB as part of an overall strategy to position the Pakistani IT industry within the global Bioinformatics marketplace.
He said the project was currently at a phase where active discussions were being held with the stakeholders, including academicians, IT professionals, and individuals with expertise in biology and other areas.
He added that the study will help identify opportunities for Pakistani software and IT enabled services in this space and highlight whether the Pakistani IT industry can address opportunities in Bioinformatics. | 
Health
