New Delhi, March 24 -- India is gearing up for a Rs.13,000 crore leap into the future of healthcare-shifting from mass-produced generics to cutting-edge "living medicines" grown from cells, alongside advanced chemicals.

With blockbuster drug patents set to expire globally, Mint explains how the country plans to tap a $300 billion biologics opportunity.

To handle the work of growing medicines from living cells, India plans to build three new national research institutes and upgrade seven existing ones, including major centres in Mohali, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.

These centres will focus on training a specialized workforce to manage the high level of scientific skill required. Since making medicines from living organisms is much...