The Indian government plans to establish approximately 16 biomanufacturing hubs across the country under its BioE3 policy. This initiative aims to reduce India’s reliance on imports for vital components such as active pharmaceutical ingredients, enzymes for biofuels, and reagents for biofertilizers. A list of 1,000 products to be manufactured domestically is already being prepared and will be accessible online soon.
Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a significant push for local manufacturing, supported by performance-linked financial incentives for drug manufacturers. While the government has seen success in ramping up the production of certain medicines, fermentation-based products continue to pose challenges for Indian manufacturers.
The new biomanufacturing hubs will feature large fermenters with capacities of 500 and 1,000 liters, facilitating the production of fermentation-based medicines as well as biofuels. An anonymous official stated, “Creating these hubs helps pool resources; meaning start-ups and small companies do not have to make big capital investments initially.”
In addition to common pharmaceutical production, these hubs will explore cutting-edge solutions, including monoclonal antibody therapies, carbon capture technologies, and smart proteins aimed at enhancing nutrition, transitioning projects from proof of concept to market-ready products.
The Department of Biotechnology has already set up six biofoundries, which are specialized facilities that support the development and initial testing of these innovative projects. Locations include the National Agri-Food and Bio-manufacturing Institute (NABI) in Mohali for sustainable food and nutrition, the Tata Memorial Centre for new drugs, and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in New Delhi, among others.
Once concepts are tested and validated at these biofoundries, they can proceed to manufacturing at the new hubs, according to the official.
The biomanufacturing hubs are designed to manufacture critical ingredients for medicines and various products that India currently imports. The Department of Biotechnology is conducting a survey to finalize a complete list of 1,000 products, encouraging start-ups and companies to innovate local manufacturing processes.
These hubs will be established within research institutes, specialized private companies, or near existing knowledge centers tailored to specific industries. Government and private research institutions, universities, and start-ups will have access to these facilities. While private companies will incur charges to cover operational costs, start-ups will pay a maximum of 5% over actual costs, while established companies could be charged up to 15%. Notably, the facilities will not assert any intellectual property rights under this policy.
Original Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/govt-plans-to-cut-down-on-imports-of-pharma-agents-biofuel-enzymes-10221213/
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Publish Date: 2025-08-31 03:25:00
