Genome Valley gets bioprocess design, scale-up facility

Hyderabad’s globally famous organised Life Sciences cluster Genome Valley now is home to India’s first single-use bioprocess design and scale-up facility.

Conceptualised by Telangana government through Telangana Lifesciences (TGLS) in collaboration with Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation and Union government’s Department of Biotechnology, the new facility seeks to be a solution to the challenge of access to affordable and predictable scale-up infrastructure.

The new facility, 1 Bio, will provide end-to-end process development and pilot-scale validation enabling start-ups as well as established companies to reduce capital investment and accelerate development timelines. It reinforces the State government’s vision of positioning Genome Valley as a world-class centre for research and development-led biotech innovation and advancing India’s biologics and next-generation therapeutics capabilities, TGLS said after Minister for Industries and IT D.Sridhar Babu opened the facility on Monday.

Gateway structure

The Minister, who also launched a new logo and the design of a gateway structure for Genome Valley to commemorate 25 years of the Life Sciences cluster, said Telangana is eyeing ₹1 lakh crore investments in Life Sciences by 2030.

Towards supporting the cluster’s next phase of expansion, ₹200 crore infrastructure upgrades are to be taken up by TGIIC, he said. “As Genome Valley marks 25 years, we are setting the course for its next 25. 1 Bio is one of India’s most important steps toward democratising access to biologics scale-up and accelerating the journey from discovery to clinical readiness,” Mr. Sridhar Babu said.

1 Bio is built on a 2-acre campus and at its core, the bio pharma hub features a single-use bioprocess development and scale-up facility, with bioreactors up to 500 litre, advanced upstream and downstream systems and a dedicated analytical suite. It houses 1.50 lakh sq ft of plug-and-play R&D labs, configurable innovation suites, shared analytical spaces equipped with advanced analytical systems and dedicated bioprocess training labs.

Thermo Fisher centre

A bioprocess design centre developed in partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific with a eye on positioning Telangana at the forefront of GLP- and GMP-grade biomolecule development for India and the world was opened by the Minister at 1 Bio in the presence of the firm’s executive V-P Fred Lowery and global leadership team.

The State, through a PPP model, has enabled investment of ₹150 crore in core infrastructure, while Thermo Fisher has contributed ₹90 crore towards the bioprocess design centre and its co-located customer experience centre within Genome Valley. 1 Bio is expected to attract an additional ₹ 500 crore in private investment from tenant companies and create over 500 high-quality jobs.