Bio Innovation Corridor established between Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) and La Trobe University, Australia

Bangalore 20 September 2024. Australia’s La Trobe University and the Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) based in the Indian state of Karnataka will establish a Bio Innovation Corridor paving the way for the sharing of skills, infrastructure and capabilities, under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed today.

La Trobe University is ranked in the top one per cent of the world’s universities. It has a proud and successful history in India, partnering with tertiary institutions and organisations on projects that benefit both countries and helping develop India’s brightest minds through joint education opportunities.

The Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre is jointly established by the Department of IT, BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka, and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, and is aimed at nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship within the biotechnology sector.

The Bio Innovation Corridor will enable entrepreneurs, startup companies, researchers and investors from Karnataka and the Australian state of Victoria to enter and leverage the infrastructure, capabilities and network of the organisations to collaborate and evaluate their Technology Readiness Level (TRL), Commercialization Readiness Level (CRL), and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL).

It will enable portfolio companies of BBC and researchers of La Trobe to pilot novel biotechnologies with applications across human health, medical, food and agritech for scale-up, regulatory approvals and customer testing in the two states.

Dr. Mohamed Adil A.A, Managing Director of Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre, said BBC encourages interdisciplinary advancement in research and innovation towards entrepreneurship by generating work, wealth and welfare and enabling the community by creating employers than employees.

He said: “The Bio Innovation Corridor between Karnataka and Victoria is a strategic partnership that will foster market access, mentorship, collaboration, and investment in the life sciences sector. By connecting researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders from both regions, they aim to accelerate innovation leading to global unicorns.”

La Trobe University Vice-Chancellor Professor Theo Farrell said: “We are very pleased to announce the creation of this Bio Innovation Corridor between Karnataka and Victoria, and to offer the skills, infrastructure and capabilities of La Trobe University to startups, entrepreneurs and researchers associated with the Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre.

“La Trobe University has a vision to develop an ecosystem of research and innovation through co-location opportunities, including at our University City of the Future at our Melbourne campus in Bundoora and our four Victorian regional campuses.

“This demonstrates our keenness to open opportunities for Karnataka-based entrepreneurs and startups to establish their R&D, innovation, product development and commercialisation facilities in conjunction with La Trobe through a range of innovative business partnership models for access to the Australian market.”

Professor Farrell said La Trobe had recently launched a purpose-built Bio Innovation Hub that will help startup companies develop new technologies in med tech and drug delivery.

The MOU was signed by Prof Farrell and Dr. Mohamed Adil during the Victoria Connect event being organised in Bangalore on 19 September 2024 and as part of showcasing the opportunities between Victoria and Karnataka in the higher education and value-adding technology sectors.