Soon A Bio-Incubator at BHU by BIRAC at a Set Up Cost of ₹6 Crore

Department of Biotechnology’s Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) has approved the setting up of a bio-incubator at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) under its `Bioincubators Nurturing Entrepreneurship for Scaling Technologies’ (Bio-NEST) programme. The facility will be set up at a cost of Rs. six crore.

BIRAC had initiated the Bio-Nest programme as part of an effort to promote the biotech innovation ecosystem in the country. Enterprising ideas in the biotech sector need incubation support of a different kind from the IT sector. They need a landing space to test their ideas, run their operations, have access to high end instrumentations and locate in a place where they connect with other start ups and mentors.

The incubators set up under Bio-NEST programme meet all these requirements. They provide incubation space to start ups and entrepreneurs and enable interactions between the industry and the academia for efficient exchange of knowledge and facilitate technical and business mentorship. Among other things, they are equipped to help the startups in terms of intellectual property and technology management, and mobilization of resources. They act as a networking platform.

BIRAC had initiated the Bio-Nest programme as part of an effort to promote the biotech innovation ecosystem in the country. Enterprising ideas in the biotech sector need incubation support of a different kind from the IT sector.

On January 16, 2016, Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi had announced a `Startup India Action Plan’. This envisages to have at least 2,000 startups in the country by 2020. To make this happen, there is a need to create bio-incubation spaces that are world class and that can provide cutting edge access to the best environs for propelling innovative ideas towards product commercialization. The Bio-NEST programme is designed to help this process.

The growing biotech startup ecosystem would require either scaling of existing bioincubation space in current biotech hubs or creation of new bio-incubation space at nascent hubs that have the potential to become bigger biotech hubs in the next decade. Further, the creation of new bio- incubation space should be cognizant about the differential needs of varied nature of biotech startups- especially those that are medtech (including medical electronics hardware), biopharma, agri-biotech and biomaterials.

Besides supporting establishment of new incubators under the control of State Government biotechnology councils or science and technology councils and at academic and research institutes, Hospitals and other such organizations, the Bio-NEST programme also offer assistance to strengthening and updating already existing incubators.

Source - Vigyanprasar.gov.in

IIT Madras Launches 'Bioincubator', An Incubation Cell For Biotechnology Startups

Biotechnology startups in Chennai have a reason to rejoice. IIT Madras on Thursday inaugurated its bio-incubator on Thursday. The IIT-Madras Bio-Incubator will help the startups with ideas related to biotechnology in getting easy facilities and funding to expand their research and innovation.  The incubator was inaugurated by Bhaskar Ramamurthy, IIT Madras's director.

This initiative by IIT Madras is being supported by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIARC), which is a body of the central government.  BIARC has established several new and world-class incubators all around the country under the Bio-Incubator Support Scheme (BISS). Addressing the startups at the launch, Bhaskar said, “Even existing and less used technologies can be uplifted and rebranded to utilize it more.”

IIT-M's bio-incubator will provide office and lab space, scale-up facilities, centralized utilities, high-end equipment and technical support to these startups for the process development so that their technologies can mature and attain commercialization.

The Government of India has allocated Rs.10,000 crore for the development of entrepreneurship in the country. The startups that register with IIT-M for research in biotechnology will be provided with a seed funding of Rs.10 lakh along with the mentorship and training programme. They will also be provided with information on how to apply and obtain legal patents for their research.

The incubator will act as a platform for researchers with nascent ideas, who want to develop and commercialize their product. It will also act as an R&D base for companies that want to try new technologies. Through this platform, researchers will be able to realize their business opportunities and entrepreneurs will be able to gain technical advice from experts.

Currently, four companies have been enrolled in the programme. The companies have been screened by the IIT faculties and selected on the basis of their content and determination for research. Of these selected four, three of the founders are alumni of Indian Institute of Technology. Pirius Nanosystems Pvt Ltd., Vital Bioscientific Solutions, Yaathum Biotech and Fib-sol Life Technologies are the selected four startups.

According to Guhan Jayaraman, coordinator at IIT-M’s Bio-incubator, “The innovation space in biotechnology has expanded considerably in the last few years in the areas of computational and synthetic biology.”

IIT Madras Launches 'Bioincubator', An Incubation Cell For Biotechnology Startups

Biotechnology startups in Chennai have a reason to rejoice. IIT Madras on Thursday inaugurated its bio-incubator on Thursday. The IIT-Madras Bio-Incubator will help the startups with ideas related to biotechnology in getting easy facilities and funding to expand their research and innovation.  The incubator was inaugurated by Bhaskar Ramamurthy, IIT Madras's director.

This initiative by IIT Madras is being supported by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIARC), which is a body of the central government.  BIARC has established several new and world-class incubators all around the country under the Bio-Incubator Support Scheme (BISS). Addressing the startups at the launch, Bhaskar said, “Even existing and less used technologies can be uplifted and rebranded to utilize it more.”

IIT-M's bio-incubator will provide office and lab space, scale-up facilities, centralized utilities, high-end equipment and technical support to these startups for the process development so that their technologies can mature and attain commercialization.

The Government of India has allocated Rs.10,000 crore for the development of entrepreneurship in the country. The startups that register with IIT-M for research in biotechnology will be provided with a seed funding of Rs.10 lakh along with the mentorship and training programme. They will also be provided with information on how to apply and obtain legal patents for their research.

The incubator will act as a platform for researchers with nascent ideas, who want to develop and commercialize their product. It will also act as an R&D base for companies that want to try new technologies. Through this platform, researchers will be able to realize their business opportunities and entrepreneurs will be able to gain technical advice from experts.

Currently, four companies have been enrolled in the programme. The companies have been screened by the IIT faculties and selected on the basis of their content and determination for research. Of these selected four, three of the founders are alumni of Indian Institute of Technology. Pirius Nanosystems Pvt Ltd., Vital Bioscientific Solutions, Yaathum Biotech and Fib-sol Life Technologies are the selected four startups.

According to Guhan Jayaraman, coordinator at IIT-M’s Bio-incubator, “The innovation space in biotechnology has expanded considerably in the last few years in the areas of computational and synthetic biology.”