Dan Vasella may have used harsh words last year when he lost a patent battle in India, but the country holds so much potential, it appears the Novartis ceo is now trying to find a way to make nice. And so the drugmaker is sponsoring a camp to groom young biotech talent in the country.

Last year, you may recall, Dan vowed to switch hundreds of millions of dollars in planned investments from India to other locations, such as China, in response to an Indian court ruling over a patent for the Gleevec cancer drug, which he argued would weaken intellectual property rights on new meds (back story).

“This (ruling) is not an invitation to invest in Indian research and development, which we would have done,” he said at the time. “We will invest more in countries where we have protection. It’s not a punishment. It’s just a question of the culture for investment. Do you buy a house if you know people will break in and sleep in your bedroom?”

Now, though, Dan is organizing a Biotechnology Leadership Camp with universities and the government to identify Indian talents in biotech, The Business Standard reports. Biocamp is an international program where experts in medicine and biotech share their knowledge with young scientists at national, regional and global level seminars. One just wrapped up in Hong Kong.

“We plan to hold a local Biocamp in India next year and are already in talks with potential partners,” Ranjit Shahani, vice chairman and managing director of Novartis India, tells the paper. “It is our endeavour to expose Indian students to the next level in cutting-edge research.” What a difference a year - and a changing global economy - can make.